Traditional festival in italy

Traditional festivals and events

Italy hosts more 'traditional' events each year, as towns revive (or create) historical pageants and festivals. As well as attracting tourism, they appeal to the strong sense of pride Italians feel in their town. Although many have been established, or re-established, in recent years (including Venice Carnival, packaged for tourists in the 1980s), some are genuinely continuous traditions going back centuries. These events range considerably; some are showy, some are heartfelt, and some are both. Religious festivals are generally the events with the longest and most deeply felt traditions, and they can be fascinating for the respectful visitor, though they are not always as accessible as the more touristy spectacles. Italians don't just feel fierce loyalty to their town, but to their district, and many events - like Siena's Palio - involve competition between the different contrade, or districts, of a town. On the destination pages of this website you will frequently find references to important local events; a selection is provided below.

Many celebratory religious events happen throughout Italy, generally at Easter, on the feast day of the town's patron saint (a local public holiday) and sometimes for other more obscure reasons. Visiting the Amalfi Coast and Bay or Naples in summer, I have almost always come across some local celebrations: a Madonna being carried across the sea accompanied by musicians, fireworks from a village along the coast...

> Venice Carnival.
> Venice's other events and festivals.
> Festa della Bruna, Matera - my account of attending a passionate and colourful religious festival in the cave-town Matera, with remarkably pagan overtones.
> Palio in Siena - famous horse race which is a hugely important to locals and also a colourful show for tourists - if you can overlook the risks to the animals.
> An orange-throwing battle during Carnival in Ivrea, near Turin.
> Snake-charming procession in Cocullo, in the Abruzzo region, on St. Domenic's feast day.
> Easter celebrations during Holy Week (the Settimana Santa) are particularly notable in Sicily, where events include a famous Procession of the 'Mysteries' in Trapani.
> Flower festivals in towns including Noto, Sicily (May) and Genzano, near Rome (June).
> Human chess game in Marostica (September, even-numbered years).