5-464: In Italy, a sagra ( pl. : sagre ) is a local festival, very often involving food, and frequently a historical pageant and sporting events: when the sporting event is a historical recreation as well, such as a joust or a horse race in costume or armour, it is called a palio . The various sagre almost always have their origins in old country fairs or similar entertainments, but many of them now aim at visitors or even foreign tourists, and some, like
10-467: A Sagra della Polenta at Perticara [ it ] di Novafeltria , a Sagra del Lattarino at Bracciano , a Sagra del Frico at Carpacco-Dignano and so on. Among the most common sagre are those celebrating olive oil , wine , pasta and pastry of various kinds, chestnuts , and cheese . Palio Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of
15-534: A historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a comune against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate some event or tradition of the Middle Ages and thus often involve horse racing , archery , jousting , crossbow shooting, and similar medieval sports. Once purely a matter of local rivalries, many have now become events that are staged with an eye to visitors and foreign tourists. The Palio di Siena
20-425: Is the only one that has been run without interruption since it started in the 1630s and is definitely the most famous all over the world. Its historical origins are documented since 1239 even though the version seen today was the final evolution of races held from the second half of the 16th century. In 1935, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini sent out an official declaration that only the one of Siena could bring
25-477: The Quintana of Foligno , had lapsed for many years but have been recently revived. A sagra is often dedicated to some specifics of local food, and the name of the sagra includes that food; for example: Festival delle Sagre astigiane , a Sagra della Rana ("frog") at Casteldilago near Arrone , a Sagra della Cipolla ("onion") at Cannara , a Sagra della Melanzana ripiena ("stuffed eggplant") at Savona ,
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