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AUTUMN Customs, Traditions and Food
In the past four special days could be easily distinguished from the other days of the year, that is equinoxes (when the day and the night have the same length) and solstices (the shortest and the longest day of the year). Such days are felt so important that people in different parts of the world have always organized events in those periods of the year. An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20th March and 22th September), and such dates are the beginning of Autumn either in the northern hemisphere (September) or in the southern hemisphere (March).
From an individual point of view, the predominant moodin Autumn is actually gladness for the fruits of the earth, which is mixed with a certain melancholy coming from the imminent arrival of harsh weather and darker days. Social events organized in Autumn are an answer to such an individual need: since days are shorter and nights are longer and it gets colder, people balance the loss in warmth and light with happiness from being together. Also Cristianity wanted to focus such crucial part of the year by celebrating St.Michael (the archangel who fought against Lucifer) on September 29th because of his real battle between good and evil. .
There are lots of festivals all over the world in this period. In our area the most important festivals are “Palio della Mannaja" in Pietralunga "Giochi delle Porte" in Gualdo Tadino
Celebrations in honour of ST. Francis Patron Saint of Italy 4TH OCTOBER
Solemn liturgical ceremonies take place in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi
Every year a different region of Italy offers the oil for the votive lamp that burns in front of the tomb of St. Francis
2nd NovemberCommemoration of All the Faithful Departed It’s the day dedicated to the dead People visit the local cemeteries , bring flowers on the graves and pray The chrysanthemum is the typical flower
To celebrate the day, fairs are held in many parts of our region, in Pietralunga, in Umbertide and Perugia. The fair represents a symbolic ritual of the community and that seems to mark the collective life cycles. The Fair of the Dead in Perugia is a huge one.
“FAVE DEI MORTI ”( SOULS’ BROAD BEANS ) In Italy there is a widespread custom of preparing some sweets called “broad beans of the dead” Maybe it is a way to feel in “communion” with the departed.
RECIPE And INGREDIENTS: 200 gr. Of almonds. 250 gr. Of sugar. 120 gr. Of flour. Half cinnamon bag. A cube of butter or lard. 2 eggs. A lemon peel.
PREPARATION: ● Roast almonds, crush them with sugar sieving several times. ● Then blend the flour to this powder, put it on the pastry board and pour the beaten eggs, the melted butter the cinnamon and the lemon peel. ● Mix all the ingredients and make cylinders a little bigger than a thumb. ● Cut them in pieces 4 or 5 centimetres long. ● Press these cylinders and give them the shape of a big broad beans half centimetre high. ● Put them on a baking-tin and bake them in a very hot oven (140° C) for about half an hour until they will brown.
“Truffle market in Gubbio” A special open market in Gubbio is linked to one of the most precious products, the truffle
Truffle Truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean mushroom. Spore dispersal is made by fungivores, that is, animals that eat fungi. There are hundreds of species of truffles and edible ones are highly esteemed in haute cuisine.
White Truffle White truffle can be found all over Italy.The most esteemed one is from Alba and Asti in the north of Italy, but white truffle is found also in Tuscany, Umbria and Molise.The flesh is pale cream or brown with white marbling. The value on the market is very high.In 2009 it was sold at 14,203.50 USD !!
Black Truffle Black truffle grows under oak and hazelnut trees, it can be found in late autumn and winter, it may reach 7 cm in diameter and it may weigh up to 100 gr. Exclusively European, its production has considerabily diminished in the past century and it is now around 20 metric tons per year. In 2009, black truffle was sold for about € 1,000 per kilo in a farmer’s market and € 3,940 per kilo in a retail shop.
Truffle Hunting Looking for truffles is almost always carried out with specially trained pigs (truffle hogs) or, more recently, dogs. In Italy the use of the pig to hunt truffles has been prohibited since 1985 due to damage caused by animals to truffle's mycelia during the digging, that dropped the production rate of the area for some years.
11th NovemberSaint Martin’s Day St. Martin’s day is celebrated throughout Italy in various ways
The celebrations are related to a famous event in St. Martin’s life. One cold and stormy day, on his way to Amiens, St Martin met a beggar naked and cold. St Martin impulsively cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar to cover him. God rewarded the saint with a wave of mild weather, known as Saint Martin’s summer.
Traditionally on Saint Martin’s day barrels are opened and the new wine is tasted A proverb says: “For St. Martin each cask is wine”
The greasy pole • In our town, in St Martin’s square, teams of men compete to climb up a pole more than 15 meters high made slippery and difficult to grip by grease • The first team to reach the top of the pole wins the contest. • The prize, put at the top of the pole, consists of a chicken, sausages, ham and other good things to eat. • Roasted chestnuts and wine are given free to everyone present in the square.
