Diamante, the Chilli Pepper Festival 🌶️

Every year in September, the streets and squares of Diamante come alive for the Diamante Peperoncino Festival.

Five days celebrating one of Calabria’s most iconic ingredients, chilli pepper, and above all, five days of festivities!

The festival takes many different forms.

Chilli pepper, of course, an essential ingredient in many traditional Calabrian recipes. You can taste ’nduja di Spilinga, rosamarina di Amantea, sardella di Crucoli and morsello di Catanzaro, to name just a few. And that is only the beginning: the festival also features more unusual creations, such as chilli pepper liqueurs, jams and many other spicy specialities.

Satire, naturally! After all, this is a spicy festival, so humour and satire are very much part of the celebrations.

Music and entertainment then take over in the evenings, with concerts, street performers, “spicy” cinema and many other events bringing the streets of Diamante to life.

The festival is also an opportunity to look at chilli pepper from a different perspective, with talks and meetings involving doctors and specialists. A chance to learn more about its effects on health, explore the scientific aspects and, along the way, dispel a few common myths.

But coming to Diamante for the festival is also a great opportunity to discover the Riviera dei Cedri and northern Calabria.

Nearby, you can explore Praia a Mare and Dino Island, San Nicola Arcella and its coastline, as well as Verbicaro, Santa Domenica Talao and Papasidero. Between hilltop villages, mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, this part of Calabria offers a wonderful variety of landscapes.

And of course, it is worth taking the time to discover Diamante itself, known as the “city of murals”. Over the years, its historic centre has become a true open-air museum: works by artists from around the world can be discovered as you wander through its narrow streets, allowing you to explore the town while admiring its colourful murals.

And for those who want to take the experience all the way, the festival ends with the final of the Italian Chilli Pepper Eating Championship.

🌶️ Even if you don’t feel quite ready to take on the challenge in 2027, you can still join us to discover this part of Calabria, between sea and mountains, with a… decidedly spicy character!

• Discover other events in Calabria
• Learn more about Calabria