On March 14 and 15, the third edition of the Spring Festival returns. Open wineries, tastings, off-menu dishes, guided tours, and an opening talk that promises to be one of the most interesting moments of the event. The program is ready, and the atmosphere already clear: to celebrate a territory in all its dimensions—landscape, food and wine, and culture.
In Franciacorta, March always marks a shift in pace. The vineyards shake off the winter, the light grows softer, and the days become longer. It is the moment when the territory begins again, and with it—on March 14 and 15—returns an event that in a short time has found its own identity.
“The Festival was born precisely from this idea of renewal,” observes Emanuele Rabotti, President of the Franciacorta Consortium. “Not an event to be consumed, but an opportunity to return to experiencing places at a more human pace.”
The formula remains deliberately simple: experiencing Franciacorta through what makes it unique—food, landscape, history, culture, and wine. An invitation to discover these places through a network of experiences that bring together landscape, cultural heritage, cuisine, and local traditions.
The Festival also dedicates significant space to cultural heritage, with guided tours curated by the FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano Group of Sebino and Franciacorta. The program leads visitors through some of the territory’s most symbolic places: the historic center of Erbusco, the Castle-Convent of Capriolo, Palazzo Pelizzari, and Palazzo Monti della Corte in Nigoline di Corte Franca. These routes intertwine history, architecture, and local identity, offering visitors a different way to explore and understand Franciacorta.
The gastronomic offering follows the very same philosophy: quality, creativity, and balance. Participating restaurants will present special off-menu dishes dedicated to the guest ingredient of honor, the Marennes-Oléron PGI oysters from Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the protagonists of a collaboration with the Groupement Qualité Huîtres Marennes Oléron. A dialogue of flavors built around freshness, minerality, and salinity, capable of creating refined pairings and enhancing the different expressions of Franciacorta.
Alongside these experiences, the Franciacorta Consortium will also host Franciacorta DOCG & Marennes-Oléron PGI Oyster pairing masterclasses: four sessions spread across the two days, designed for those who wish to explore the topic in a relaxed yet informative and accessible way. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
Within this narrative of the territory, the wineries naturally take center stage as well, opening their doors to visitors with guided tours, tastings, and meetings with producers. Not only tastings, but stories, details, and accounts of vineyards and time, offering a deeper understanding of the process that transforms grapes into one of Italy’s most recognized wine symbols.
“Entering a winery means understanding that every bottle is the result of waiting, choices, and patience,” Rabotti continues. “That is the value we want to share.”
“In recent years,” Rabotti concludes, “there has been growing attention toward Franciacorta. I believe, however, that there is still room to better tell the variety of expressions our territory can offer, and the Spring Festival is proving to be a perfect ally in rediscovering the places, stories, and identities that make our region unique.”
The weekend will be preceded by the opening talk on March 12, “The Future of Places: Identity, Vision, and Cultural Responsibility,” hosted in the Ridotto of Teatro Grande. A public conversation dedicated to the value of territories as living cultural spaces: not merely geographical or productive places, but communities capable of generating identity, vision, and future. At the center are crucial contemporary themes such as cultural sustainability, enhancement, and shared responsibility, approached with a perspective that brings together memory and innovation, roots and forward-looking vision. More than a preview, it is a declaration of intent.
Promoted by the Franciacorta Consortium as a moment of cross-disciplinary reflection, the meeting will be moderated by TG5 journalist and presenter Dario Maltese, who will lead a dynamic and intergenerational discussion among the speakers: cultural manager Luca Josi; Daniele Cipriani, director of the Festival dei Due Mondi; Paolo Borzacchiello, expert in language and strategic communication; Arianna Gatti, considered one of Italy’s most promising emerging chefs, combining Abruzzese tradition with Brescia’s flavors; and Melania Rizzoli, physician and academic with extensive institutional experience in educational policy and human capital development.
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