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Cannobio Fireworks - Photo (c)
ladigue_99
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Food Festivals in Italy
Winter Food Festivals:
Feast of the Star: A
large star lights up a presepio, or creche, that
is placed on a cart and carried in procession
through the streets of Sabbio Chiesa near
Brescia in Lombardy. Everyone carries gifts of
food for the Three Kings, mostly cheese, wine,
and salami, which are consumed at a great dinner
that follows.
Epiphany: There
are many feasts and special foods for the
Epiphany. In the Veneto, everyone eats la pinza
de Marantega, a sweet bread made with cornmeal,
white wheat flour, dried figs, anise seeds and
candied fruits. The town of Andreis near
Pordenone in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia celebrates
with a sagra of bread and wine. Everyone drinks
the local wine and eats a special fig and raisin
bread baked in a wood-burning oven.
Sagra delle
Luganighe: At Cannobio near Novara
in Piedmont, January brings the feast of
luganiga, a type of sausage, celebrated with
heaps of boiled sausages, potatoes and
sauerkraut.
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Festa di San Antonio:
At Volongo near Cremona
in Lombardy, young people collect wood to build
a pyre sixty feet high to burn an old witch made
of straw who represents winter. Everyone eats
torta dura, or hard cake, made with cornmeal and
spices.
Spring Food Festivals:
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Feast of the Cherry Trees in Flower: Held in
Vignola near Modena in Emilia-Romagna in early
April.
Sagra dei
Garagoi: At Marotta near Pesaro
in The Marches, you will find this sagra
dedicated to the garagoi, or sea snails. They
are cooked in tomato sauce with lots of pepper.
The locals say the best way to eat them is to
take a sip of wine for every seven snails.
Naturally, only the local wines such as
Bianchello and Verdicchio from the Colli
Pesaresi will do.
Sagra dei Gnocchi: More than fourteen hundred pounds of potatoes
are cooked for this feast at Teolo near Padua,
and everyone eats potato gnocchi.
Sagra della Pie Fritta: This fair honoring a small fried flatbread is
held at Fontanelice near Bologna.
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Blossoming Cherry Trees - Photo (c)
adreamer_awd
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Sagra dello
Stoccafisso: The stockfish fair is
held at Melazzo near Alessandria in Piedmont.
Five chefs cook huge quantities of the dried
fish with tomato sauce, olives, anchovies, tuna,
and garlic. The day's events include stockfish
hurling contests.
Sagra del Biscottofisso: This fair is held at
Bomarzo near Viterbo in Latium. Ring-shaped
cookies flavored with aniseed are dedicated to
Saint Anselm, the patron saint of Bomarzo.
Sagra delle Uova Sode: To celebrate Easter, a
hard-cooked egg-eating contest is the highlight
of this feast held at Tredozio near Forli in
Emilia-Romagna.
Sagra del
Carciofo: Held at Ladispoli in
Rome, this sagra features a mountain of mammola
artichokes, the round, spineless variety for
which the region is renowned. The piazza is
surrounded by stands offering them cooked in
different ways. At night there is a fireworks
display.
Sagra del Pesce: Held at Camogli near Genoa, in honor of the
feast of San Fortunato, the patron saint of
fishermen. The townspeople fry up fresh fish in
an enormous pan and distribute it to all. The
locals say the best way to eat them is to take a
sip of wine for every seven snails.
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Lambrusco - Photo (c)
*adri*
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Summer Food Festivals:
Festa del Lambrusco: Held in July at Albinea
in Emilia-Romagna. Fizzy, red wine is sampled
with gnocco fritto, or fried puffs of pasta
dough, accompanied by prosciutto and salami and
erbazzone, a savory tart stuffed with greens,
eggs, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Festa di Noiantri: Held in Rome along the
banks of the Tiber. Noiantri means "we others,"
which is the way the residents of the bohemian
Trastevere neighborhood think of themselves, as
a breed apart. Booths offer tastes of bruschetta
and sell local crafts and foodstuffs.
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Campionato Nazionale dei Mangiatori d'Anguria: National
watermelon eating championship held at Sissa
near Parma.
Sagra delle Melanzane Ripiene: Held in Montanesi near
Genoa for the feast of Saint Rocco. Wine and
cheese accompany the stuffed eggplant.
Sagra del Pecorino: At San Godenzo near
Florence, fresh and aged sheep's milk cheese is
tasted in the town square.
Sagra dell'Anguilla: Orbetello in Tuscany
celebrates with eels either fried, marinated, or
stuffed.
Autumn Food Festivals:
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The harvest
season brings a wealth of gastronomic festivals
throughout Italy. You could probably find one
for every day of the month of September. The
Festa of the Duck is held at Desenzano on Lake
Garda, of the Wild Boar at Capalbio in Tuscany,
of the Octopus at Portovenere in Tuscany, of the
Mushrooms at Budoia in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and
Lucca in Tuscany.
Among the many Grape
festivals, the most famous is probably that of
Marino in the Castelli Romani in Latium where a
huge fountain spouts white wine instead of
water.
La Vendemmia della Nonna: Held each year at
Castagnole Monferrato near Asti in Piedmont, with
the harvesting and stomping of the grapes in the
old manner. Afterward there is a big dinner
featuring polenta with anchovy sauce.
Sagra della Nocciola: Held in Castellero in
Piedmont. The highlight is a footrace through
the hazelnuts. Homemade tortes, cakes, and
sweets are handed out and prizes given for he
best nuts.
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Vendemmia - Photo (c)
Flor3
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Sagra della Lepre: Held at Selvatelle near Pisa. Cooks prepare
potted hare, roasted hare, and pappardelle with
hare sauce. For those who don't like hare, there
are grilled steaks and roast pork.
Sarga degli Stacchioddi: Held at Latiano in
Puglia, this fair celebrates a type of homemade
pasta that is shaped into little curved disks
and served with a tomato sauce and sour ricotta
cheese.
From: "A Fresh Taste of Italy" by Michele Scicolone.
(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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