Viva la festa

me and my friends Rosanna, Umberto, Erminia and Silvana

Sunday evening I went home exhausted, but fell asleep smiling. 

 Let’s start from the beginning, as I had already mentioned in Saturday’s blog, this weekend my adopted village of Allerona was celebrating S.Isidoro the patron saint of farmers. This year for the first time I had the pleasure and honor to be part of the organizing group for the festivities. In fact, I can say that this festival involved everyone from the youngest to the oldest of the Alleronesi. Some women of the village prepare  cakes and others organize themselves into groups to make delicious and traditional dishes. Men are engaged in the preparation of the carts ( colled Pugnaloni), meaning setting up the carts to represent country life in miniature…. 

 But I will explain in order: Everything has begun, despite the rain, with Don Luigi, the village priest,  blessing the farmers’ tractors, as a favorable omen for good harvest. 

Don Luigi blessing the tractors

On Sunday morning at 8:00 am !!!!!!, I went to help my friends Rosanna, Erminia and Silvana, and together we prepared 20 kg of Panzanella for the Sagra. While we cut cucumbers, celery, tomatoes and the remaining ingredients, we talked about recipes, the importance of continuing to grow your own vegetables ,plus  they also explained to me that through this feast of St. Isidore, the population tries to keep alive the traditions of the village.  Then came Umberto ,I adore this man , every morning when I go for my  run he and I  always chat. We had a good coffee and with Nick’s help, left  carrying  away 20 kg of homemade Panzanella. By now the carts had been taken to the village square and the procession turned in the narrow streets of Allerona. The party began to heat up. 

Carts - Pugnaloni

Carts - Pugnaloni

Procession

One of the things I love about this festival is the parade of old-fashioned clothes. From the youngest to the oldest , a large group of people wearing these clothes ,representative of the period 1850/1900 parade in the village. It’s like taking a step back in the past, beautiful. 

Parade

Parade

During all this, however, the Staff of St. Isidoro were preparing to set up tables, filled with fantastic food and local wine. Believe me I have never in my life ,cut so much cheese, bread and cake. The women  had brought many things: chicken liver pate, broad beans pate, cabbage with croutons, anchovies marinated in evo oil, anchovies and onions, beans in tomato sauce, porchetta, panzanella (of course) and cake, lots of cake  … …. the list is huge and everything was clearly homemade !!!!. 

Francesco me and Marina, part of S.Isidoro Staff

Gino 96 years old enjoyng singing

Once the tables were prepared and the entertainment had started, we began offering free food to all the people who came to the festival. 

Anchovies and onions

Panzanella

It was great to see the generosity, enthusiasm and energy that the entire village of Allerona put into organizing this wonderful celebration. It has been a great honor to be part of this and next year if you happen to be in Umbria , join in the feast of St. isidoro , Allerona, the heart of Umbria. 

Ingredients for 3 or 4:
1 cucumber
1 stalks celery
A lettuce salad
1 white onion
3 San Marzano tomatoes
300 grams of dry bread
EVO oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt.
How it works:
Allow peaces of bread to soak in water for several minutes. With your hands squeeze the bread , removing water. Put bread in a large bowl. Cut all salad contents into small pieces. Mix well the salad contents with bread. Season with plenty of evo oil , a few drops of vinegar and salt. Mix well again.  Simple and good.