Ciao a tutti! My name is Sally Mayo. I’m a partner in a cooperative called Cultour which works in the area of cultural tourism. We’re based in Lecce, but operate throughout Puglia and southern Italy. I’ve been living in Lecce for over four years now and working with the cooperative for just over 12 months. Both my work and my passion for local traditions and culture provide me with infinite opportunities for getting out and exploring as much as I can of the richness and variety in life here. I’m keen on contributing articles from time to time and sharing some of the wonderful experiences which are really unique to this part of the world with the readers of Puglia Connection. I hope that some of you are inspired to visit by what you read on Puglia Connection. The real charm and warmth of the local people is something which one can only know from experience. At the very least, my articles may be able to provide some information about a part of Europe still little known to many. Buon viaggio virtuale!

The Festa of Sant’Antonio Abate and the “Fòcara” at Novoli.

One of the wonderful curiosities about southern Italy is the myriad local festivals and celebrations throughout the year; basically anything is a good excuse for southern Italians to get together, let their hair down and have a good time. Some of the events are more modern, such as the numerous “sagre” or food festivals which are often held during the summer, while other traditional celebrations have their roots firmly in the past, likely dating back centuries, such as the carnival parade in Putignano, one of the oldest in the world. Not all of the events are necessarily joyous occasions, such as the Easter rites particularly heartfelt in Gallipoli, Taranto, Mottola and other towns farther north in Puglia, but all of them punctuate the year, breaking the monotony of the everyday routine and giving sense and meaning to life in these traditional centres.

As a rule, towns and cities make a big deal of the celebration of their own patron saint. In Novoli, a small agricultural centre about 15 kilometres from Lecce, Sant’Antonio Abate (Saint Anthony the Abbot) was officially decreed the town’s patron saint and protector in 1664 by the then bishop, Monsignor Luigi Pappacoda. Naturally, the 17th of January, being the official feast day for the saint in question, became the focus of community celebration, if it wasn’t already a tradition established long before.  The particular focus of both the religious and the civil ceremony, nowadays, is the lighting of an enormous bonfire measuring approximately 20 metres in height and diameter. Collection of the winter prunings from the local grape vines begins before Christmas and the material accumulates in Piazza Tito Schipa until construction of the bonfire officially begins at dawn on the 7th of January. Participation in the work of constructing the pyre is an honour and skill which is passed down through the generations and for which there is no shortage of volunteers today. Work draws to a close on the 16th of January, the eve of the actual festival of Sant’Antonio. In the early afternoon the townspeople come together for the blessing of the animals, a traditional observance associated with Sant’Antonio because of his role as patron and protector of animals and which still draws a large patronage, although mainly by four legged creatures of a more domestic nature these days. In the 1940s, when the limited traffic around the town moved at a much slower pace, a piglet adorned with a red bow, and known as ‘lu ‘ntunieddru’ (a nickname for Antonio in the local dialect) was left to roam free and forage at will throughout the town during the days of the festival. There was also once a time when special bread was blessed and distributed to farmers to be fed to any sick animals among their herds and flocks. 

Immediately after the benediction of the animals, the procession with a statue of the saint starts through the streets of the town centre. While still a relatively solemn affair, a remembrance of the saint and his piety, the procession has also modified with time. Once participants in the procession were barefoot and obliged to carry weights, penitence for sins committed throughout the year.

The last of the traditional religious preparations before lighting the bonfire is the blessing of the image of Sant’Antonio which is mounted on the top of the bonfire to be burned in effigy. Although this is a Christian festival dedicated to the town’s patron saint, the lighting of the bonfire is a rite with its roots firmly planted in pagan practice. With all things, time effects change and Novoli’s “Fòcara” has been adapted to suit modern tastes too. At the moment when the bonfire is lit, a lengthy and impressive fireworks display begins. The thousands of people who are gathered in the square raise their glance and are delighted by pyrotechnics, while the blaze of the bonfire which will burn for several days takes hold. Festivities continue into the wee small hours with a concert, market stalls, “illuminarie” or lights throughout the main streets, the opening of the church dedicated to Sant’Antonio and plenty of food and wine. Further events and concerts are organised throughout the following two days.

A similar, but much less widely known, event takes place on 30th and 31st of January in a town called Grottaglie, about 65 km north east in the province of Taranto. The occasion celebrates Grottaglie’s patron saint, Ciro (Cyrus).

If you’re interested in seeing some images of the celebrations in Novoli, from this year and past, there are two websites both dedicated to the event. They are both in Italian and there doesn’t seem to be any intention to have them translated, unfortunately: www.santantonionovoli.it and www.focara.it.

To find out more about some of the other important festivals celebrated in southern Puglia, see the events page of Cultour’s website: http://www.cultournet.it/english/events.html.

Keep watching Puglia Connection in the next couple of weeks for an article about the Carnival Parade and celebrations at Putignano.