Sclafani Bagni Wine & Food Festival

The Sclafani Bagni Wine & Food Festival is a day of food and wine in late August in one of the smallest villages in the Madonie. Michelin-starred chefs cook live at the Badia, the former Monastery of Santa Chiara, while masterclasses with Sicilian wineries are held at the Castello Medievale. Cooking shows and masterclasses are booked with a ticket; around them are the stalls of Madonie producers and the wine tasting at Porta Soprana. In 2026 the 3rd edition was held on Sunday 30 August.

When is it held?

The festival falls in late August. The last two editions were on a Sunday, 31 August 2025 and 30 August 2026, for a whole day from morning to evening. The first, in 2024, lasted two days instead, 31 August and 1 September.

The 2027 dates haven’t been announced yet. Updates are posted on the festival website, sclafaniwinefood.com, and on the town council’s events page.

A typical programme: the 2026 day

The 3rd edition used the old town as a spread-out route, from the square to the upper part of the village (Madonie Press):

Time (30 August 2026)	What	Where
10 am	Excursion to the Sclafani Bagni terme	Departure by shuttle
11 am	Vintage car rally with the Veicoli d’Epoca Madoniti association	Piazza Pier Santi Mattarella
12 noon	Talk “Le vigne della Targa Florio: vino e motori sulle Madonie”; stalls open	Badia; Piazza Madonna di Fatima
1:30 pm	Cooking show “Qual è il gusto del mare?” with Jacopo Ticchi (Da Lucio, Rimini) and the Tasca d’Almerita winery	Badia
3:30 pm	Masterclass on the Metodo Classico of the Milazzo estate, with Nino Aiello	Castello Medievale
5 pm	Cooking show “Peppe-Roni” with Giuseppe Torrisi (Cortile Santo Spirito, Syracuse) and the Castellucci Miano winery	Badia
5-8 pm	Tasting with Sicilian producers and winemakers	Porta Soprana
6:30 pm	Masterclass “Viaggio a Donnafugata: 4 vini 4 territori”, with Nino Aiello	Castello Medievale

The cooking shows were hosted by Gianni Paternò of Italia a Tavola. Roving musicians played in the streets throughout the day.

What to eat and drink

The heart of the festival is the chefs’ dishes, made with local ingredients and produce, and the wines from the wineries that pair with them. Outside the ticketed events, in the small square in front of the Badia, Madonie producers sell honey, preserves, cured meats, liqueurs, cheese and herbs, selected by the organisers (festival website). At Porta Soprana, under sunshades, Sicilian wineries pour their wines for tasting.

For an idea of what these mountains produce, there’s our guide to Madonie food.

What to see in Sclafani Bagni

The festival takes people up the streets and stairways of the village. The Badia, the Castle and Porta Soprana are three of the main sights, described on the Sclafani Bagni page. An urban geology trail also runs through the centre: Sclafani is part of the UNESCO Global Geopark Madonie.

The second reason to come is the warm water. In the countryside outside the village there’s a sulphur spring you can bathe in, and in both 2025 and 2026 the festival organised an excursion to the terme, the last time with a shuttle.

Who organises it

The festival is backed by the town council of Sclafani Bagni, with support from BCC Madonie and other partners. In 2025 it was organised by Grifeo Eventi, with technical advice from local chef Giuseppe Costantino (festival website). The organisers themselves present it as an event far from the “usual village food fairs”, built around cooking shows and masterclasses.

Practical tips

• Book. Cooking shows and masterclasses have limited places and a ticket. In 2025 all the cooking shows sold out.
• Getting there. Sclafani Bagni sits at 813 metres. From Palermo it’s about 76 km and an hour and a half, on the A19 to Termini Imerese, then the SS120 via Cerda and the SP58; Caltavuturo is about ten kilometres away (see getting to the Madonie by car). Sources don’t list dedicated car parks.
• Where to stay. The village is small: see where to stay in Sclafani Bagni and, for meals outside the festival, where to eat in Sclafani Bagni.
• Weather. The festival is almost entirely outdoors: check the Sclafani Bagni weather.

Past editions

Year	Date	Chefs	Notes
2024	31 August-1 September	Nino Ferreri, Vincenzo Candiano, Carmelo Trentacosti, Tony Lo Coco, plus local chef Giuseppe Costantino	First edition, concert by the Sirah on Saturday evening
2025	31 August	Giuseppe Carollo, Giuseppe Raciti, Giuseppe Causarano	Talk with Fiasconaro and the Cappadonia family, dishes by catering school students from Castellana Sicula, closing concert by the Sirah with Michele Piccione
2026	30 August	Jacopo Ticchi, Giuseppe Torrisi	Targa Florio talk and vintage car rally

If the motoring side interests you, the history of the race is on the Targa Florio classica page. Other food events are in the Madonie food festival calendar and under events in Sclafani Bagni.