Tag: festival

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Noto, Sicily – A Viel Of Flowers

To my knowledge there is no analog in the United States to the custom and festival similar to the one practiced in Noto, Sicily. Each year the town and local people celebrate the Infiorata, or festival of flowers. It is one of three towns known to have such a festival, which includes the towns of Spello and Genzano.

Noto

Noto is a world heritage UNESCO site and is well known for its cathedral and other archaeological wonders. Not only does the Noto Cathedral represent the epitome of Sicilian Baroque style, but it is the major landmark in the city. Over the years it suffered damage from repeated earthquakes and shoddy repairs, only to finally collapse in the 1990s after years of neglect. The church that stands before us today is almost a complete resurrection of the former cathedral, since only the facade and outside walls escaped destruction.

It was totally destroyed in 1693 by an enormous earthquake and devastated it and the surrounding towns and villages. More than half of the residents perished in the violent event. It was later reconstructed at its current location in what is now considered the Sicilian Baroque style. Below is a slideshow with other sites that we saw while visiting, mostly churches of course.

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L’Infiorata di Noto

The entrance fee on-site is 3€/person, however we booked our’s through the website and were charge 3.50€/person, plus an additional .60€ for processing. So keep in mind, obtaining your ticket early may not always be the best or most cost effective.

The route of the flower festival is in the center of town and includes the entire street of Via Corrado Nicolaci. This year’s theme was Italian cinema.

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After taking in the flowers, the festival continues down by the Porta Reale Ferdinando and the park Villa Communale off  of Corso Victoria Emanuele. Here you can buy all sorts of fair type items, from home-made nutbars, granola bars, specialized candies and other assorted items and drinks.

Restaurants

We only ate lunch here, but the place we originally chose was closed on Tuesdays, so we had to adapt and chose another place, which was timely, because the weather was not cooperating again.

Cortes Restaurant

Situated on the main shopping thoroughfare in the middle of town is Cortes Ristorante. Here one may easily find a typical Italian dish to enjoy for lunch. I ordered an Insalate Mista and Spaghetti with garlic and oil, Patti ordered the Spaghetti with garlic and oil along with crushed pistachios. The food was very good and the prices were reasonable.

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Bobbio Pellice, Italy – Cows, Sheep and Goats!

La Fira ‘D La Pouià

Festival T-Shirt – La Fira ‘d la Pouià – Bobbio Pellice – 2022

This weekend turned out to be extra special, in that a special festival occurred in the valley known as the “La Fira ‘d la Pouià“, or the fair for the transfer of livestock to their seasonal feeding grounds, also known as transhumance.

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The small town of Bobbio Pellice hosts this event twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Participation by any farm family is voluntary, but many do so, since they have representative booths within the festival grounds. This provides them an opportunity to sell products they make during the year from their farms and animals, like meat, cheeses and other delicacies.

Marching Band Arriving – La Fira ‘d la Pouià – Bobbio Pellice – 2022

It starts with a small marching band that processes up the main street, announcing the arrival of the animals.

Then the children lead a procession down the street, after which one can begin to hear the sound of cow bells.

They remain in the town square for some time playing music until all of the animals, along with their families, have passed.

Cows Arriving – La Fira ‘d la Pouià – Bobbio Pellice – 2022

 

The animals are outfitted with celebration bells, many containing award ribbons that each animal may have won during past fairs, or just fitted with a simpler bell fitting for the occasion.

After they are pastured nearby and judged, these are replaced by smaller and more utilitarian bells which will be worn for the rest of the trip and while they are in their mountain pastures for the summer.

Cows Sporting Their Bells – La Fira ‘d la Pouià – Bobbio Pellice – 2022

When the animals finally come, the parade starts with the larger animals, the cows and later quietly proceeds down to the smaller ones, when the sheep and the goats arrive.

The sheep are customarily under the vigilant eye of a number of dogs, which are trained to watch over them day and night. These animals are not aggressive, but they are very territorial and it is wise to stay away from them and the flock they guard. Rumors have it, they are known to have even killed humans who trespass.

Clouds over Bobbio Pellice

If you are looking for that kind of one off experience and a lover of animals, a trip to Bobbio Pellice to watch this festival is definitely worth it. Many are day trippers who drive to the town, but parking space is extremely limited, so get there early. Since the area offers amazing hiking opportunities, we preferred the slow travel approach and took the train to Pinerolo, then transferred to our Bed and Breadfast here for the week. A short walk down the street would have brought us here, but instead our hosts were going to attend and kindly offered us a lift, which we gladly obliged.