Back for 27a edition of the "Festival of Spaghetto dei Carbonai" and "Corsa dei Somari" in Fratticiola Selvatica (PG) from 20 to 29 July 2012.
The 27th Spaghetto dei Carbonai Festival will take place in Fratticiola Selvatica, in the province of Perugia, a traditional event that takes place in the context of the territory between Perugia and Gubbio; in the same context will be held the "Review of the Mule and the Soma Horse" and the eagerly awaited "Somari Race".
The Spaghetti Festival of the charcoal burners is a unique event that takes place in the last week of July in Fratticiola Selvatica in the province of Perugia. Located between Perugia and Gubbio, our town is surrounded by a panorama from which you can admire a vast territory between Mount Tezio and Mount Cucco and not surprisingly with its height (668 slm) is considered the balcony of Umbria green.
The Spaghetti Festival of the charcoal burners is a spontaneous and genuine event, with which we wanted to revive and bring to the attention, especially of the youngest, ancient traditions of work and customs, linked to our area, which saw, precisely in the past, a notable activity of charcoal burners who departed from here to lend their work and to distribute their product in many areas of Umbria.
The protagonist of the festival is the spaghetto del charcoal, an ancient dish that represented the main meal of the charcoal burners during their activity. Among the most significant moments of the festival it is obligatory to remember the "Review of the Mule and the Soma Horse" now in its XXXV edition where it is possible to admire splendid specimens of equines that have come from all over Italy. For the entire duration of the festival the charcoal burner restaurant will be active (from 19 pm), where you can taste the typical dishes of our tradition.
Each evening will be enlivened by a smooth complex while the youngest can have fun in our splendid Pub. The donkey returns as the protagonist at the end of the party, on the last Sunday, in the famous "Race of the Somari" which attracts a large number of spectators ready to attend a comical and rather spectacular race full of exhilarating falls.
Race of the Donkeys
During the festival, as everyone knows by now, Fratticiola is divided into seven districts so called: Noce, Scuperta, Acquedotto, Spiazzone, Madonna, Torricella and Viali. The donkey race is a young event, destined to grow and as far as we have seen so far, it is growing really well. Since the first edition it has aroused immediate enthusiasm in the people and is on the way to becoming an emblematic event for our country as much as the Mule Review. Cheerful, simple and relaxed, the donkey race is a spectacle not to be missed.
The people of the districts live the event with irony and passion and reasons for healthy laughter. In the preparation of the fashion show, in the search for finding contour solutions, everyone puts commitment and imagination at the service of their district, so that it can better spend its image. The organizational capacity is enhanced in the team spirit and the will to excel over the others feeds an unleashed, but always correct, cheer in the salient competitive phases of the event. If the skill of the jockey or the luck of hitting the fastest donkey will make it possible to conquer the coveted trophy, that district will have fulfilled his dream and for a whole year it will be looked upon with a certain envy by all the others.
If you are not from the country you may be wondering why the colors but in reality they have been assigned with a draw. Apart from this, each district needs two people who take the trouble to represent the district during the festival (il CAPO RIONE) and during the palio (il FANTINO). Speaking of the first, it must be said that, especially if he is not helped by someone, he performs a very tough task. The role of the RION HEAD is not limited to attending the draw or running together with the FANTINO in the time trial, but also extends to collect the shares of each Ward, to hold the meeting and to make choices that will accommodate all the inhabitants of the District.
We are not talking about the FANTINO as much as it can be defined as such because he is not a professional but a simple person like all of us, who must win a highly coveted trophy, and before the festival he endures a great deal of stress also due to the fact that the palio takes place a once a year. But let's take small steps, as we said the palio takes place on the last Sunday of the Festival around 22:00 as scheduled, but for the districts everything starts early in the morning with the mass of the Jockey at the parish church in which the two most important figures of the district precisely the Jockey and the Chief of the District. Afterwards we all go to the area of the "old mill" for the pairing of donkeys, in fact by extraction a quadruped is assigned to each district and the beauty is that no one can know the characteristics that distinguish it, that is if it is a good runner , if he prefers to be in the rear or if he really doesn't want to know about running and so everything is postponed to the afternoon. Yes, exactly in the afternoon, because the stopwatch takes place around 17:30 pm and, as you can guess, the talents of each donkey are revealed here.
As can be seen from the name "time trial race" it is a timed race in which the Jockey and the Head of the District accompany or rather try to make the donkey run over a distance of about 200 meters not flat. Our two dear representatives of the Rione placed, one in front and one behind the quadruped, as I said, try to make it run because not all go free and fast indeed sometimes they slow down sometimes they splash to the finish line alone other times, when it really goes wrong , they stop and all that remains is to abandon the race and fall to the last place in the standings.
Who has done this race swears that they are the longest 2 minutes of life but also the hardest because the result will then be assigned the starting places in the actual race. It has become a tradition that before the time trial there is an exhibition of the districts, where everyone takes part in a kind of parade each with its own colors and above all where even those who are not from the country can participate freely and take advantage of the small refreshment made available. but above all having fun letting oneself be carried away by music and happiness. The arrival of the Jockey and Chief Rione is very funny, accompanied or rather transported on unusual and equally funny wagons or carriages! Until a few years ago we were presented with real allegorical floats that could represent life situations of our ancestors, buildings or monuments of extreme importance for the district or depict playful scenes with humorous donkeys.
But let's go back to the Palio at the long-awaited evening when the bleachers are packed with people, when there are only 7 colors, when each district shouts the name of its jockey in unison as if to give themselves that extra push that can make them win. the coveted prize is this the evening that everyone is waiting for a whole year and I assure you we have fun! It all begins with the Jockeys entering the track who, together with the Head of the District, accompany the quadruped friend and parade under the applauding audience.
Then comes the long-awaited stance on the starting grid where there are no signs or dividers only the rope delimits the start and it's all to the skill of the Jockey but above all to the good will of the donkey to put himself in the right place. In this moment, hilarious situations, which are difficult to describe, seem to be the master because until everyone has aligned, the way can not be given. But here all seven are in position, the rope goes down is the signal for the start and in the confusion the positions are already outlined but everything is still in play before the hilarious falls of the Jockeys run three times, then forced into a inglorious race in an attempt to recover the animal that seems not to care, and the lucky overtaking caused by the trajectories not exactly from formula 1 of the quadrupeds require every fan to hope all the way because it is only the first place that counts! How many jockeys by now at the last corner, already ready to cheer, have seen an opponent overtake them because the donkey did not want to tighten the curve or because he stopped to graze a tasty tuft of grass, many times it has happened and certainly they will not be the only ones because this is what amuses the complete impossibility of governing a donkey!
For information:
Pro-Loco Tourist Association
tel. 075/582941 - Fax 075/5829471
prolocofratticiola.it
The events may undergo changes, therefore it is advisable to check the event by contacting the organizing bodies directly. Caccia Passione is not responsible for any changes to the dates of individual events.