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Events and
Festivals in Cremona
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January:
Small antique market
with over 200 exhibitors set up in the historic centre of town
from seven in the morning until eight in the evening. City:
Castelleone
S. Antonio Abate
- this day is celebrated with festivities, food and 'cleansing'
bonfires. There is usually hot wine served with cookies,
pastries and typical local foods.
City: in the towns of: Ostiano, Pessina
Cremonese, Volongo and Rivolta d'Adda
'La Meerla
(dialect for Blackbird), a fascinating display of Cremonese
folklore that is as old as the mists of time. La Merla is the
coldest period of the year. The festivities last three nights,
as celebrants dance near the warmth of a raging bonfire filling
themselves with hot wine and typical foods of the area. City:
Genivolta, Acquanegra Cremonese, Cornaleto, Crema, Grumello
Cremonese, Pianengo, Regona, San Bassano, Sesto Cremona and
Trigolo
February:
Big bonfire
in the evening at the bottom of a very old tree. It commemorates
(with costumes and parades) the plague suffered by the town and
the ancient purification treatments used. City: Pescarolo
Carnival Free samples from a huge pot of polenta
City: Derovere
Small antique market with over 200
exhibitors set up in the historic center of town from seven in
the morning until eight in the evening. City: Castelleone
Curiosities in the Piazza
(used item market) - around a hundred exhibitors gather in
piazza Stradivari to sell their used furniture, pictures,
lithographs, musical instruments, strange curiosities and
antiques. City: Cremona
March:
Bonfire of San Guiseppe
(Father of Jesus) - in the morning, a small statue of the saint
is carried by running athletes from the Sanctuary of Caravaggio
to the Church of Santa Maria of Misericordia where a large
parade carries the saint throughout the town streets. In the
evening, in piazza Borgo Isso there is a giant bonfire to chases
winter away and welcomes spring. Food that is offered in
abundance. Afterwards the partygoers take home embers of the
fire that represent the last time of that year that their beds
will need to be warmed up. City: Castelleone
Fiera della Senigola
- this is a seed fair that takes place in front of the Church of
Santa Maria della Senigola and dates back to the year 1385.
Religious and lay themes mix, side-by-side, where seeds are
displayed and sold during the period of returning springtime.
City: Pescarolo
April:
A Thousand Toys
- this is an antique show dedicated exclusively to toys that
takes on the spirit of a flea-market. Among the countless types
of toys in exhibition (some of which date back to the 1700s) are
toy soldiers, trains, cars, tops, yo-yos and a wide collection
of toys from the seventies and eighties. City: Cremona
May:
Three Days in the Piazza
- this is a festival which features the works of local artists,
craftsmen, folkloristic artisans and industrial donors. All 130
stalls and exhibits are displayed in and around the central
piazza of the city. On the last weekend of the month is the
festival called 'Ben-essere nelle mura' which means well being
inside the walls and features music, food and dance. City:
Pizzighettone
Fish festival.
Fried fish, cheese, sausages, polenta, risotto and good local
wine are handed out for free. City: Volongo
Apparition Fair
- takes place at the sanctuary of the Madonna in remembrance of
four miraculous epiphanies, recorded in the year 1511. The
streets fill up with visitors from the surrounding areas who
browse the numerous stalls and exhibits. City: Castelleone
Spring Fair
- this is a kind of historical evocation of times past, with
authentic epoch costumes, shows in dialect, old crafts and
flowers in the piazza and the medieval streets around the Rocca.
This ancient farming community, with its costumes and culture,
is remembered with relics from the past and authentic exhibits
depicting the transition to today's world. City: Soncino
June:
Historical folk exhibition
to commemorate the prison sentence of Francesco I. Masked
parade, flag competition, dance and traditional medieval music.
City: Pizzighettone
Night on the river Po.
This is a boat contest, where the boats are lit up to produce
colourful symbolic subjects. A parade is followed by an
elaborate fireworks display. City: Isola Dovarese
July:
Serate storiche in Rocca
- this weekend celebrates the liberation of this fortress from
the tyrant Ezzelino da Romano in the year 1473. He was horribly
wounded in his retreat and died with the secret of where he had
stashed all of his plundered treasures. The weekend revives the
joy of the citizens with music, dance, drink, theatre, costumed
parades and general merriment. City: Soncino
Palio dell'Oca
(Race of the Gooses) - the six 'porte' (literally 'doors', but
meaning neighbourhoods) each put up one of the portly honkers in
hope that they will win the prestigious, hand painted cloth that
is awarded to the victor. Surrounding the giant floating raft
that supports the judges are musical groups, stalls of goodies,
parades of costumed citizens and ambitious imbibing of alcoholic
beverages. City: Cremona
Melon festival.
Two full-immersion days in the dramatic court of the 16th
century called Castello Mina, where colourful stands full of
melon are located. The classic ham and melon and the good local
wine are offered to the tourists, who dance and sing till early
morning. City: Casteldidone
August:
Small antique market
with over 200 exhibitors set up in the historic center of town
from seven in the morning until eight in the evening. City:
Castelleone
September:
Small antique market
with over 200 exhibitors set up in the historic center of town
from seven in the morning until eight in the evening. City:
Castelleone
Curiosities in the Piazza
(used item market) - around a hundred exhibitors gather in
piazza Stradivari to sell their used furniture, pictures,
lithographs, musical instruments, strange curiosities and
antiques. City: Cremona
October:
Provincial exhibition
of locally produced handicrafts.
The Holy Virgin of Rosario
is commemorated with a boat parade on the Serio River with a
fireworks display as the grande finale. City: Montodine
Torrone festival
- there are many legends about torrone's origins, but one
historical document, dating back to October 25, 1441, is
considered proof that the nougat made its earliest appearance in
Italy at the wedding banquet of Bianca Maria Visconti and
Francesco Sforza in Cremona. City: Cremona
Sagra delle Radici -
this red-edged relative of Chicory draws more than 50,000
celebrants during its three day party. The infinite variety of
methods in which the leafy legume can be cooked, presented,
consumed and discussed are in plentiful abundance as are live
bands, local foods and wines, dancing and overall merriment.
Date: the fourth weekend of October City:
Soncino
Sapori di Una Volta
(Tastes from Long Ago) - for four days the city creates a giant
'Osteria' from which anyone can feed on foods that have found
their way into the history books. When: last Saturday and Sunday
of October creeping sometimes into the first weekend of November
City: Pizzighettone
November:
Curiosities in the Piazza
(used item market) - around a hundred exhibitors gather in
piazza Stradivari to sell their used furniture, pictures,
lithographs, musical instruments, strange curiosities and
antiques. City: Cremona
December:
Girl on a donkey,
on the night of December 12th, a girl dressed in white travels
through the area on a donkey and takes presents and sweets to
all the houses with children. The children open the gifts on the
morning of December 13th. City: Formigara
S. Lucia is celebrated with stalls of
presents and sweets City: in the towns of Castelleone, Grontardo,
Grumello, Padino and Regona.
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