The Chili Festival in Southern Italy

They not only spice up your food and your love life, but chili peppers get people in the mood to celebrate. Nothing says “let’s party” like a chili!

From the streets of New York to local festivals in South America, Northern Africa, India, the Caribbean islands and the nations of the Mediterranean, chili peppers are a great excuse to throw a party. Tasting festivals held in their honor take place the world over. You can buy them fresh, powdered, as seeds to be planted at home, and you can above all experiment with new chili-flavored dishes.

The one festival that really shouldn’t be missed is held in the sun-baked land of Calabria, the Italian region most famous for its love of chilies. You can enjoy masked parades, music, singing and dancing long into the night, whilst visiting many stands where you can try pasta dishes flavored with chili powder, as southern Italy’s favorite, hottest spice is honored. The next festival will be held between the 7th and 11th of September in Diamante, in the province of Cosenza, on the Mediterranean coast.

The Italian Chili Pepper Academy’s official website:
www.peperoncino.org

A video from last festival: click here.

Photo courtesy Italytraveller.com