Castagnata e Fiazein di Battagliosi

Why it's special

It pairs roast castagne with fiazein — a Battagliosi specialty with its own protected recognition since 2008 — in a tiny Orba-valley hamlet most visitors never reach. Free to join, with a children's gimkana and live music, it's the frazione's own autumn get-together.

Programme · 2026

Afternoon castagnata at Frazione Battagliosi (Pro Loco di Battagliosi-Albareto): roast chestnuts and fiazein. Detailed 2026 programme not published; in 2025 it started at 15:00 with music and a children's gimkana.

• It's up at Frazione Battagliosi, above Molare — bring cash and come hungry for chestnuts and fiazein.
• In 2025 there was a gimkana with prizes for children (free entry) and music.
• The date sits around 11 October but the weekday moves (a Saturday in 2025, a Sunday in 2026), so check the VisitOvada calendar before you set off.

Every autumn the hamlet of Battagliosi, up above Molare in the Orba valley, puts on its castagnata. The Pro Loco di Battagliosi-Albareto lights the braziers on an afternoon in mid-October and hands round roast chestnuts alongside fiazein — the local flatbread specialty the frazione is known for, recognised in its own right since 2008.

It's a small, unhurried village afternoon: chestnuts and fiazein, a bit of music, and a gimkana with prizes to keep the children busy. Entry is free. This is one of the few autumn dates in Molare's calendar, and it's firmly a locals' festa rather than a tourist draw — which is exactly why it's worth the drive up.

Check the exact day before you set off: it lands around 11 October, but the weekday moves from year to year.