Orchidee dal Mondo: the April orchid show in Monte Porzio Catone

Monte Porzio Catone is known, with no official title, as the city of orchids. The nickname has two reasons. Around twenty species of wild orchid grow on the hills around the town, according to the regional tourist board. And since 1996, every spring, the old town has hosted one of the longest running orchid shows in Italy.

What is Orchidee dal Mondo?

It is an international orchid show and market: specialist nurseries and growers bring their plants, and collectors come to see and buy them. Alongside the stands there are growing demonstrations and events with music, culture, food and wine.

The show was started in 1996 by Gianni Ferretti, an orchid lover from the town, who put together the first edition with the town council. After him it was his wife, Rosanna, who carried it on and grew it into an international event.

When is it held?

Every year, over a weekend in mid April, usually three days long. Recent editions:

• 2024, twenty seventh edition: 12 to 14 April.
• 2026, twenty ninth edition: 10 to 12 April.
• 2027: the thirtieth anniversary, the thirtieth edition.

The dates change every year.

Where: in the cellars of the old town

The show is not held in an exhibition hall. The exhibitors set up in the tinelli, the old cellars and ground floor rooms of the old town, where wine used to be made and stored. For three days the cellars are cleared and filled with flowers, and the visit becomes a walk through the lanes of the Borghese village.

It is the same word as our name: a tinello, in Monte Porzio, is one of these rooms.

Who exhibits

The sources speak of plants “from all over the world”, and the list for the 2024 edition shows it well. That year there were fourteen exhibitors, including:

• from Ecuador, Ecuagenera and Ecuadorquideas, with orchids from the Andes and the tropics;
• from Germany, Orchideen Grom and Orchideen Detlef Frenzel;
• from Asia, growers such as Orchis Floriculturing, from Taiwan, and Orchidhouse Asia;
• from Italy, nurseries such as the Orchideria di Morosolo, Le Orchidee del Lago Maggiore and Varesina Orchidee.

The 2024 edition was organised by the town council with two orchid growers’ associations, AMAO and ALO. Other descriptions, of earlier editions, also mention nurseries from France, the Netherlands and Malaysia: the exhibitors change from year to year.

Orchidee in Vino

Since 2022 the show has had an “event within the event”: Orchidee in Vino, a tasting trail with the local wineries, meaning the Frascati that grows on these hills. In 2026 it was run by the Iperico association, the same group that organises visits to Tusculum and the activities of the Wine Museum. In 2023, together with the show, the Tusculum archaeological park could be visited for free.

What to do nearby

The show is a good excuse to see the rest of the town: the walk through the old town, Villa Mondragone and the church of San Gregorio Magno. The other events of the year are on the page about festivals and traditions.

Up to date information

Programme, dates and admission change every year: you will find them on the channels of the Comune di Monte Porzio Catone and the organisers, and on the events pages of the Castelli Romani Park and Visit Lazio. We do not repeat them here so as not to publish anything out of date.

In short

• What: Orchidee dal Mondo, an international orchid show and market.
• Since: 1996; the twenty ninth edition in 2026, the thirtieth anniversary in 2027.
• When: a weekend in mid April.
• Where: in the tinelli, the old cellars of the old town.
• Exhibitors: nurseries from Italy, Ecuador, Germany, Asia and other countries, different each year.
• Also: Orchidee in Vino, the tasting with local wineries.