Santarcangelo is a CittàSlow: a town where life is good. And when we talk about the good life, we simply have to talk about good food.
Santarcangelo lies in the heart of Romagna and here, what you eat and drink are matters of great importance! The core principles are quality and spending time together – a daily ritual that the people of Santarcangelo practise for themselves but love to share with their guests.
As you stroll through the town’s streets, you’ll see plenty of delicatessens where pasta is still made with a rolling pin right before your eyes, as is piadina, our bread to be filled in a thousand mouth-watering ways; the Friday market, with an entire square dedicated solely to food, from porchetta to cheeses, honey, fried fish – perhaps to be eaten in a paper cone – oil, and fruit and vegetables of every kind; and on Saturday mornings, the ‘km 0’ market, smaller but with a more select range of produce.
There are plenty of restaurants, bars and wine bars, where you can “sample” the Romagna welcome; and then there are the fairs, offering special occasions for socialising, fun and, of course, a good toast with Sangiovese.
If there is one flavour that encapsulates the identity of Santarcangelo, it is that of the Cipolla dell’Acqua (it is no coincidence that the villagers have always been nicknamed ‘i cipolloni’).
This golden, early-maturing variety is unique in the world: it is incredibly sweet, can weigh up to 1 kg and owes its name to the ditches of the River Marecchia which historically supplied water to the vegetable gardens.
Today, this local speciality is a Slow Food Presidium, grown without chemical weedkillers exclusively in Santarcangelo and the neighbouring municipalities.
How can you enjoy it during your visit?
At the fair: Woven into the traditional rests during the San Martino Fair (11 November).
At the table: Eaten raw or cooked inside a piadina romagnola, or in the form of local specialities such as Sangiovese-caramelised onions.
A must-have gastronomic souvenir before heading home!
The link between the hill of Monte Giove and wine is the best-kept secret beneath the ground in Santarcangelo di Romagna, where history blends with legend and rural architecture.
The legend of Sangiovese: It is said that the name of Romagna’s wine par excellence originated right here. The monks at the monastery on the hill produced such a delicious red wine that, during a banquet, the guests christened it “Sanguis Jovis” (Blood of Jupiter), from which the name Sangiovese derives.
The village’s natural cold stores: The subsoil beneath Monte Giove is a labyrinth of over 150 underground caves carved out of sandstone. For centuries, these cavities have served as the ‘cellars’ of the people of Sant’Arcangelo. Thanks to a constant temperature of 13–14°C and perfect humidity, the caves have proved to be the ideal environment for ageing wine and storing foodstuffs.
Then and now: This ancient tradition lives on today. Some local wineries continue to age their finest Sangiovese in the cool heart of the hill, and the caves (such as the monumental Grotta Pubblica or the Grotta Felici) are unmissable stops on food and wine tours that combine the magic of the underground town with tastings of local wines.
Here are a few suggestions for trying out some traditional dishes from Romagna and Santarcangelo at home: