Why the potato,
here in Lazzate?
At the end of the eighteenth century a gentleman from Como used to spend his autumns in a country house here in Lazzate: his name was Alessandro Volta. One day he plants in his garden some tubers nobody wants to eat — they are said to bring disease — and sets about convincing the farmers, one at a time, that they are good after all.
It takes him years. But from that garden the potato spreads to everyone’s fields, and winter in Lazzate becomes less frightening. They call him “the benevolent wizard”. Two hundred years on we still throw him a party: this one.
And you can still taste the story: on the menu there is a potato soup named after a French pharmacist who, in those very years, was fighting exactly the same battle in Paris.
Read the story →At the restaurant,
you can eat the story
Two dishes on the menu are not there by chance: one comes from France, the other from the kitchens of Lazzate.
“In the piazza I bring my kitchen, and every dish comes from the work of a team of collaborators and volunteers who share the same passion. Together we choose the ingredients and take care of every detail. Because even a village festival deserves the soul of a great dining table.”
His too is the Pan del Volta, the dessert created for the Sagra della Patata. The restaurant in the square →
Parmentier soup
It carries the name of the French pharmacist who, in Volta’s own years, convinced France to eat potatoes. Here at the festival you taste a piece of the history of the potato — and of humankind, two hundred metres from Volta’s house.
The story of this dish →
Pulenta de pomm de tera
Potatoes, butter, garlic, salt: four ingredients, everything there was. It is the most Lazzate dish there is, and it is a poor one: it tells better than any other how the potato was queen of the poor man’s table.
The original recipe →A menu built on potatoes
Four days of celebration in Piazza Giovanni XXIII: the restaurant opens every evening from 7pm, and also for lunch from noon on Saturday and Sunday. Table service, covered seating and no queues. Booking is not compulsory, but it secures your seat.
Restaurant in the piazza
Potato-based cooking every evening from 7pm. Also lunch from noon on Saturday and Sunday.
Book a table →Today's menu
The dishes in rotation during the festival evenings. The menu is still being finalised.
See the menu →Autumn flavours
On Saturday 26 and Sunday 27, wooden stalls along the streets of the borgo with local and regional produce.
Discover the markets →The programme
The four days of the festival day by day: restaurant, markets and exhibition.
See the programme →Side events
The exhibition at Casa Volta, music and traditions in the square at the weekend.
Discover the events →Why the potato?
Alessandro Volta brought it here: the story behind the festival and our village.
Read the story →Wooden stalls
along the borgo
On Saturday 26 and Sunday 27, the traditional wooden stalls line the streets of the borgo with typical local and regional produce.
Honey, cheese, preserves, crafts and the autumn flavours of the area, together with the displays that dress the borgo for the festival weekend.
Saturday 26 and Sunday 27
The stalls are open all weekend, along the streets of the borgo, a short walk from the restaurant in the square.
Go to the markets →- Restaurant from 7pm
- Music: Christian Boselli DJ
- Restaurant from 7pm
- Music: Spicegirls
- Lunch from noon
- Dinner from 7pm
- Markets along the borgo
- Music: Funky Machine
- Lunch from noon
- Dinner from 7pm
- Markets along the borgo
- Music: Tribute Band Bon Jovi
The festival in pictures
Amici di Cesarino · Ardor Lazzate · A.S. Lazzate Volley · Corpo Musicale S. Cecilia · Enalcaccia Il Roccolo · GAP Lazzate · G.V.A.T. · Ju Ippon Karate · Moto Club Lazzate · Museo Etnografico Lazzate · Pesca Sportiva Lazzate · Cittadini Volontari