La Fira ‘D La Pouià
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
