Sagra degli Asparagi

What Sagra degli Asparagi does

Pro Loco Mezzago APS is an Italian voluntary association (Associazione di Promozione Sociale) founded in 1989 in Mezzago, Lombardy, that organizes the annual Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa di Mezzago, a community food and cultural festival celebrating the locally unique pink-tipped Asparago Rosa di Mezzago. The 66th edition is scheduled for April 30 to May 23, 2026, at Palazzo Archinti, and is staffed by approximately 90 volunteers serving thousands of guests over roughly four weeks through a reservation-only restaurant, a walk-in bar, and direct producer sales on Thursday–Saturday evenings. The organization protects the underlying asparagus product through a registered Collective Enterprise Trademark (nr. 302019000058569) with the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and a Denominazione Comunale (De.Co.) municipal designation, and holds the UNPLI 'Sagra di Qualità' national certification awarded in 2023.

The business model is fundamentally non-commercial and event-driven. Revenue is generated transactionally through festival restaurant and bar sales (menu pricing disclosed in euros, e.g., antipasti €7–€9, primi €6–€9.50, secondi €7–€12, bottled wine €11–€15), direct producer sales of asparagus bunches on festival evenings, membership subscriptions promoted through the 'Festa della Sottoscrizione', and producer/artisan stall fees from the MEZSVAGO closing event day. Geographic scope is limited to the Lombardy/Brianza region, with the underlying asparagus cultivated on approximately 14 hectares managed by the CAAM cooperative and local young entrepreneurs.

Beyond the flagship festival, Pro Loco Mezzago APS operates a portfolio of community programs: MezzAgro (biodiversity and seed-saving with Parco Agricolo Nord Est Milano, Ciboprossimo, and the Biblioteca di Mezzago), AggregArti (cultural outings), Geocaching Mezzago (cultural heritage treasure hunts), Memorie Mezzaghesi (a 2015-launched digital community archive), and the autumn Sagra nella Zucca pumpkin festival (7th edition in 2025). Marketing is conducted through the prolocomezzago.it website, Facebook, Instagram, RSS, an email newsletter, and a press office distributing downloadable media kits, with UNPLI providing national visibility. The association is governed under a 2019 convention with the Comune di Mezzago that delegates promotion and protection of the Asparago Rosa brand.

Name

Sagra degli Asparagi

Legal name

Pro Loco Mezzago APS

Website

https://prolocomezzago.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pro Loco Mezzago APS is an Italian non-profit voluntary association founded in 1989 that organizes the annual Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa di Mezzago, a four-week community food and cultural festival celebrating the locally unique pink asparagus, serving thousands of regional visitors through a volunteer-run restaurant and bar.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Food Festival & Cultural Event Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAHAG

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

SECONDARYMPAGAEAK

Community Fundraisers & Charity Events (Gala/Walks excluded)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Cultural Festivals & Community Events

SECONDARYTHAHABAM

Agriculture, Farming & AgriTech Shows Organizers

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Exhibition & Trade Show Organizers

Keywords

• Local food festivals
• Community event services
• Volunteer association
• Cultural heritage events
• Gastronomic event management

Headquarters

HQ city

Mezzago

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Festival Restaurant Operations: The primary revenue stream comes from the volunteer-run restaurant at Palazzo Archinti during the festival period (late April to late May). Guests pay for food and beverages including asparagus-based dishes, wines, and specialty beers. Reservations are made online or by phone. Additional revenue comes from bar sales and direct producer sales of asparagus on event evenings.
2. Membership Subscriptions (Sottoscrizione): Pro Loco Mezzago APS promotes annual membership subscriptions to support association activities including the festival. The membership drive is communicated through events such as 'Festa della Sottoscrizione' held at the association's headquarters.
3. Producer and Artisan Market Stall Fees: The MEZSVAGO main event day features market stalls from producers, artisans, associations, and hobbyists. Fees from stall operators contribute to event revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Pro Loco Mezzago APS, an Italian voluntary association, organizes the annual Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa di Mezzago (Asparagus Festival), a four-week spring event featuring a volunteer-run restaurant, cultural programming, and the celebration of the unique Asparago Rosa di Mezzago pink asparagus. The organization also runs ancillary community initiatives including a digital historical archive (Memorie Mezzaghesi), biodiversity seed-saving project (MezzAgro), arts program (AggregArti), GPS-based cultural exploration (Geocaching Mezzago), and an autumn pumpkin festival (Sagra nella Zucca).

Product overview

Sagra degli Asparagi (Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa di Mezzago) is organized by Pro Loco Mezzago APS, a cultural association founded in 1989. The primary offering is the annual Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa festival celebrating the unique Pink Asparagus of Mezzago. Supporting community initiatives include MezzAgro (biodiversity and seed saving), AggregArti (arts and culture sharing), Geocaching (cultural exploration), and Memorie Mezzaghesi (digital historical archive). The organization also runs the Sagra nella Zucca pumpkin festival in autumn. All activities are volunteer-driven, with approximately 90 volunteers contributing to the annual asparagus festival alone.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa di Mezzago Annual four-week food and cultural festival celebrating the Pink Asparagus of Mezzago, held at Palazzo Archinti, featuring a volunteer-run restaurant, cultural events, music, sports activities, and the MEZSVAGO closing event.
• Ristorante della Sagra

Quantifiable outcome

• 66th consecutive edition demonstrates exceptional longevity and community endurance as a traditional festival
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Comune di Mezzago (Municipality of Mezzago)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019In 2019, a convention was signed between Pro Loco Mezzago APS and the Municipal Administration delegating governance, promotion, and valorization activities related to the Asparago Rosa di Mezzago. The municipality also recognizes the asparagus under the Denominazione Comunale (De.Co.) and supports the association's cultural activities.
• UNPLI (Unione Nazionale Pro Loco Italiane)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational umbrella organization for Pro Loco associations in Italy. UNPLI provides the Sagra di Qualità (Quality Festival) certification to the Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa and supports national visibility for member festivals.
• Saint-Pierre de Chandieu (France)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two international twin towns partnered with the Comune di Mezzago. The partnership facilitates cultural exchange and community connections.
• Reilingen (Germany)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two international twin towns partnered with the Comune di Mezzago. The partnership supports cultural exchange and community activities.
• CAAM (Cooperativa Agricola di Asparagicoltori Mezzaghesi)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural cooperative of asparagus producers in Mezzago, formed as part of the asparagus recovery project initiated in the early 2000s. CAAM manages approximately 14 hectares of asparagus cultivation and collaborates with Pro Loco on the Asparago Rosa recovery and promotion project. CAAM opens its farms to visitors during the festival as part of 'Dalla Terra alla Padella' initiatives.
• Parco Agricolo Nord Est MilanominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural park partner for the MezzAgro project, which promotes biodiversity, seed saving, and environmental education. The partnership involves schools, educational centers, and citizens in seed conservation activities.
• CiboprossimominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for the MezzAgro seed-saving and biodiversity project, contributing to environmental education and seed sharing initiatives.
• Centro Culturale Giancarlo BrascaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural center named after the notable Mezzaghese figure Giancarlo Brasca (1920–1979). The center promotes Christian cultural heritage, dialogue with contemporary culture, and engagement with youth, operating from Villa Brasca and the Vecchia Canonica.
• Biblioteca di Mezzago (Mezzago Library)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with Pro Loco on multiple initiatives including the Memorie Mezzaghesi (Me.Me.) archival project and hosts the 'Biblioteca dei Semi' (Seed Library) for the MezzAgro project.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Slow Food Italia: Italian chapter of the global Slow Food movement promoting local food heritage, biodiversity, and traditional products. Philosophically aligned with Pro Loco Mezzago's mission to preserve Asparago Rosa and local agri-food traditions; a potential ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor.
• UNPLI - Unione Nazionale Pro Loco Italiane: National umbrella body for Italian Pro Loco associations and the issuer of the 'Sagra di Qualità' certification held by Pro Loco Mezzago APS. Functions as industry network, certification body, and visibility amplifier rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Festa del Redentore (Venice): Historic Venetian regional festival with cultural programming, food elements, and broad community involvement. A larger, more established Italian regional festival with comparable volunteer-and-municipality operating model but significantly greater scale and tourism draw.
• Palio di Siena: Italy's most iconic traditional community festival, anchored in a specific Tuscan locality with deep heritage and community-driven operations. Comparable to Pro Loco Mezzago in its locally-rooted, multi-generational, festival-as-identity model, but at vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba: Annual international white truffle fair in Alba, Piedmont — a regional Italian gastronomic festival celebrating a unique, terroir-defined local product with comparable heritage, certification focus, and gastronomic-tourism positioning to the Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa di Mezzago.
• Sagra della Nocciola Tonda Gentile di Cortemilia: Annual Italian hazelnut festival in Cortemilia, Piedmont — a regional Pro Loco-led celebration of a unique local agricultural product, structurally analogous to the Asparago Rosa festival in scale, audience, and single-product positioning.
• Sagra del Pesce di Camogli: Long-running Italian coastal food festival in Camogli, Liguria, organized by a local Pro Loco association to celebrate a regional specialty (fresh fish). Same Pro Loco-led, volunteer-run, single-product regional sagra model as Pro Loco Mezzago APS.
• Festa dei Ceri di Gubbio: Annual Umbrian community festival with centuries-old tradition, organized by civic associations with strong volunteer mobilization. Comparable in its small-town Italian community-festival DNA, annual cycle, and identity-driven cultural positioning to Pro Loco Mezzago APS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/prolocomezzago
• Instagraminstagram.com/prolocomezzago
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sagra-degli-asparagi

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sagra degli Asparagi