Gran Gala del Pesce Spada 2026 in Bagnara Calabra: the 61st edition from 24 to 26 July

From 24 to 26 July 2026, Piazza Matteotti once again becomes the beating heart of the Costa Viola's seafaring tradition. The 61st edition of the Gran Gala del Pesce Spada in Bagnara Calabra celebrates the area's symbolic fish with three days of tastings, culture, music and collective memory, in an event founded in 1965 and now awarded the "Sagra di Qualita" mark by UNPLI Nazionale.

Gran Gala del Pesce Spada 2026: dates, times and venue of the 61st edition

The 2026 Gran Gala del Pesce Spada takes place in Bagnara Calabra (RC) from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 July 2026, centred on Piazza Matteotti, in the heart of the historic centre overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. This year the appointment comes earlier than the usual first Sunday in August: the town Pro Loco, led by president Bruno Ienco, moved the dates to avoid overlapping with other major events in the Reggio Calabria calendar.
The highlight remains Sunday. On 26 July, from 19:00, Piazza Matteotti turns into a large open-air kitchen led by chef Domenico "Mimmo" Fedele, one of the best-known names in local dining, who showcases the excellence of Bagnara swordfish through live preparation in front of the public. It is the ritual that every year draws thousands of visitors from across Calabria and Sicily, attracted by the smell of the grills and the chance to taste the famous swordfish sandwich, a true gastronomic icon of the Costa Viola.
The event is free to enter in the square; tastings follow the rules set by the organisers, who publish times, tickets and details on the official channels of the Pro Loco of Bagnara Calabra in the weeks before the event. Visitors coming from outside the region find Bagnara an ideal base: the town is served by a railway station on the Tyrrhenian line and is reached by car from the Bagnara exit of the A2 del Mediterraneo, about thirty minutes from Reggio Calabria and Villa San Giovanni.

The 2026 programme: three days of wine, gala evening and open-air cooking

The 61st edition unfolds over three days, each with its own identity, designed to tell not only the story of a product but of an entire culture made of knowledge, work and belonging.
Friday 24 July - Incontri di VINI. The three-day event opens with a route dedicated to local flavours and wine excellence. It is a moment of tasting and storytelling that brings swordfish into dialogue with Calabrian wine production, weaving together taste, conviviality and support for small local producers.
Saturday 25 July - Gala evening and "Bagnarosity" awards. This is the identity heart of the event. During the evening the "alla Bagnarosita" awards are presented to people who have raised Bagnara's name in the world, in culture, sport, entrepreneurship or research. It is a moment created to celebrate the sense of belonging and the inseparable bond between the community and its seafaring history.
Sunday 26 July - The Gran Gala. The highlight day opens, according to tradition, with moments of community reflection and continues from 19:00 with the large open-air kitchen in Piazza Matteotti. Chef Mimmo Fedele leads the preparation of swordfish in front of the public, followed by the collective tasting and, to close, the musical show that keeps the square alive late into the night.
The detailed programme with final times, guest artists and participation rules is released by the Pro Loco in the weeks immediately before the event.

From 1965 to today: the history of the Gran Gala and the Bagnarote

The Gran Gala del Pesce Spada was born in 1965, almost by chance, from the tenacity of the Bagnarote, the women of Bagnara Calabra who for generations travelled on foot and by train across Calabria and Sicily carrying baskets of fish, salt and goods balanced on their heads. By cooking for everyone in the town square, they gave rise to what is now one of southern Italy's most recognised identity events.
Behind the festival lies a sea story that goes back centuries: swordfish hunting, practised for generations with the spatara, the traditional boat fitted with a high lookout tower and a long walkway stretching over the water, from which the harpooner waited for the right moment. It was a spectacle of strength, patience and knowledge of the sea, a direct encounter between human and animal that shaped the economy and culture of the whole Costa Viola, from Bagnara to Scilla, from Palmi to Chianalea.
Today fishing techniques have changed, but the memory of that relationship remains alive. The Gran Gala is the moment when the community recognises itself again in that story, passing it on to new generations and visitors. It is no coincidence that the Pro Loco has started the procedure to seek UNESCO recognition for the swordfish hunting tradition as intangible cultural heritage, a path that would mark a turning point in protecting this legacy.
Meanwhile, the event has received the "Sagra di Qualita" mark from UNPLI Nazionale, an acknowledgement reserved for events able to protect the authenticity of traditions, the quality of food and wine offering, and the deep bond with the territory.

What to see in Bagnara Calabra during the Gran Gala

The Gran Gala is the ideal occasion to discover Bagnara Calabra beyond the square. The town develops between the marina and the hill, in one of the most evocative stretches of the Costa Viola, the coastline named after the violet reflections that sunset draws on the water of the Strait of Messina.
Do not miss the Aragonese Tower, built between the 15th and 16th centuries to defend against attacks from the sea, and the Church of Maria Santissima del Rosario, which preserves a fine group of 16th-century marble statues. Climbing towards Castello Ruffo, you reach one of the widest panoramas of the Tyrrhenian coast: on clear days the view embraces Sicily, Etna and the Aeolian Islands.
Bagnara's beaches, from the central Marinella to the more secluded Cala Janculla, reached by sea or by trail, offer crystal-clear water and seabeds interesting for snorkelling. A few kilometres away open other unmissable Costa Viola stops: Scilla with the fishing quarter of Chianalea and Castello Ruffo, Palmi with Monte Sant'Elia and the Costa Viola from above, and the small inland villages of the Gioia Tauro plain.
Those who visit Bagnara during the Gala days find a town in celebration, with the historic centre lively late into the night, stalls of typical products and the chance to taste, besides swordfish, another local symbol: Torrone di Bagnara IGP, made according to a recipe handed down for generations and recognised as a Protected Geographical Indication.