Guide to Traditional Basilicata Festivals and Events
JANUARY – Presepe Vivente – Living Crib. This is held all over the region. Visit Potenza on 6 January to see the local people dress up and re-enact the nativity.
FEBRUARY – Festa del Romita – Satriano di Lucania. Held on the Sunday of carnevale this ancient ritual involves two characters – Romita (a hermit) decked out in ivy and an ‘Orso’ (bear) wearing sheepskin. These two go from house to house looking for gifts and donations for the celebrations on Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day!).
MARCH – Festa della Madonna di Picciano. Picciano is in Matera Province and this event on the 25 march commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary in an oak tree to a peasant looking for his cows.
MAY – If you want to see a traditional and very ancient Basilicata festival then visit the town of Arrettura in May when many small villages and towns enact a pagan ritual designed to ensure the fertility of the land and a bountiful harvest. The Sagra del ‘Maggio’ also known as the ‘Matrimonio degli Alberi’ involves the symbolic ‘marriage’ of a large tree to a smaller one. The ‘male’ tree – the ‘maggio’ , usually an oak, is chopped down and is taken along with his ‘bride’ – the bushy top part of a holly bush – to the village square where they are united in front of the whole village, amidst much celebration. Villages which have this festival include Castel Saraceno, Garaguso and Oppido Lucano.
Another May festival with ancient roots is held in Potenza. The Sfilata dei Turchi (The Procession of the Turks) re-enacts a night of angelic intervention when the townspeople were saved from Saracen invasion with some supernatural assistance. The Festa dello Spirito Sancto at Melfi in Potenza province begins on Monte Vulture where a cart carrying a statue of the Trinity is carried by ox cart down the mountain and into the town by a costumed parade of villagers. In the town itself there are lots of stalls with typical local produce. The event dates from the 16th century when the town was in the hands of the French. The locals took refuge in the woods of Spirito Sancto and only returned at Pentecost when the town was liberated by the Spanish.
JUNE – Festa di San Vito, Castelmezzano, Potenza. Held around the 15 June this feast day involves carrying a statue of Saint Vitus, plus the town’s patron saint San Antonio around the streets of Castelmezzano. Afterwards there are fireworks and a huge public dinner held outside.
JULY – Processione della Madonna della Bruna. Held in Matera on the 2nd July, this event begins in the morning with the ‘shepherds procession’. At sunset a procession with a cart holding a papier mache throne of the Madonna della Bruna and pulled by eight mules. This culminates in the crowd ‘attacking’ the float in order to get a piece of it which is supposed to bring good luck for the next year.
AUGUST – La sagra dei Fagioli di Sarconi. (Bean Festival and Open Air Market - Sarconi, Potenza). 17 – 19 august, dedicated to "his majesty the bean". You’ll not only have a bean feast but can also taste other scrumptious local produce like honey and cheese.
Festa di San Rocco – 20 August, held at Montescaglio in the province of Matera. The fourteenth century Saint Rocco is often compared to Saint Francis, also coming from a noble family and renouncing it all to help the poor. This event celebrates his miraculous intervention which saved the residents of Montescaglio from an earthquake. A papier mache float in his honour is pulled by seven horses.
SEPTEMBER – Sagra dell’Uva e del Granturco (Grape and Corn festival), Grassano, Matera. Held 12 – 23 September.
Sagra dei Fighi Secchi (Dried fig festival) at Miglionico, Matera. As well as eating them, you would be amazed what can be done with dried figs! Here they are made into garlands and even dolls! Held on the second Sunday of September.
Sagra del Castello – Ferrandina, Matera, September 30. This event is held at Uggiano Castle and comprises guided tours, food and wine tasting, an exhibition of locally handcrafted items, a photographic and painting exhibition and a concert of ‘popular music’.
OCTOBER – Sagra della Castagna (Chestnut festival). It’s the time of year to harvest these traditional nuts and there are a number of towns and villafges in Basilicata with their own chestnut festivals. Try the one at Paterno in Potenza on the 25 October. Stalls are erected along the streets of the village and you can taste all kinds of dishes featuring this essential winter food.
DECEMBER – Tradizione delle Pannedduzze - 8 December, Melfi, Potenza. The 8 December is a public holiday in Italy, being the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In Melfi they honour this event by distributing small loaves of unleavened bread during Mass.
La Sagra delle Pettole, Montescaglioso, Matera. Held on the 15 December, this ancient recipe is made basically from flour, water, salt and yeast. The ingredients are made into balls and fried until golden brown. Sounds simple enough but the technique and recipe is a jealously guarded secret passed down from mother to daughter over generations.
Natale Vivente (Living Christmas), Pisticchi, Matera, from the 24 – 29 December all kinds of cribs and decorations are on display in the town.