June Events in UMBRIA
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:
first weekend of the month
Where:Arezzo
An antiques and flea market held in the main piazza
Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi)
Date:first Sunday that falls 60 days after Easter
Where:throughout Italy
The most unique and beautiful events feature carpets
of flowers that are trod upon by religious pilgrims
while others celebrate with parades, liturgy and feasts. This purely religious holiday was born in Bolsena in 1263. A priest on a pilgrimage to Rome
was afflicted with a religious condition called
"Berengarianism" -- he doubted whether the wine
and bread used during mass really transformed into
the body of Christ. To ask for strength in his vocation
and to remove his doubts about the presence of
Jesus in the Eucharist, he stopped at Bolsena, a
small town north of Rome. During this fateful Mass,
during the consecration as the priest said, "This is
My Body," a statue of Christ over the altar began to
bleed profusely. While the priest wrapped his robes
around the bleeding statue, some of the blood fell on
the marble floor in front of the altar. He immediately
took the story of what had happened, his bloodstained robes and some of the marble floor, to Pope Urban IV who was in nearby Orvieto at the time. The Pope declared that a Eucharistic miracle had occurred which dispelled the heresy of Berengarianism. He also created a new feast, the Feast of Corpus Christi, to commemorate the Miracle. The bloodstained marble tiles are kept in Bolsena, in a church built in 1290 to house them, and the bloodstained robes in Orvieto.
Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi)
Date:the first Sunday that falls 60 days after Easter
Where:Orvieto
For the historical authenticity and magnificence of its costumes, the parade held on the feast of Corpus Domini in Orvieto has few rivals. Hundreds of participants dressed in costumes representing all walks of medieval life participate in this solemn procession every year. There is also a Goose Palio.
Web Link: www.cittadiorvieto.com/index.html
Web Link: www.slowfood.com/
Infiorate di Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi)
Date:the first Sunday that falls 60 days after Easter
Where:Assisi
This marks the preparation of the beautiful and intricate floral carpets (religious street art composed entirely of flower petals) on the streets where the extraordinary parade of the Belle Pianete takes place (featuring exquisite costumes worn by the clergy).
Web Link: www.assisi.com/index.html
Infiorate di Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi)
Date:the first Sunday that falls 60 days after Easter
Where:Spello
Astonishingly rich and beautiful pictures made entirely of flower petals become a carpet covering the main street of this charming medieval town in Umbria.
Web Link: www.umbria.org/Eventi/eng/evento.asp?id=25
The Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic
Date:June 2nd
Where:throughout Italy
The Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic is a subject of typically long-winded Italian debate that has been declared to officially fall on a number of different dates depending on who is talking and from which pulpit. Originally, March 17th was the day in 1861 that law declared the unified kingdom, but the leaders of the 'Risorgimento' (the military expedition that led to the unification of Italy) did not accept that date. Instead, they preferred March 4th and worked their best to popularize THEIR date. Both dates were legally combined in 1977, to be celebrated on the first Sunday of June due to 'weather considerations' and to eliminate some of Italy's many holidays as a means to boost productivity. However, in the first weeks of the year 2001, President Ciampi signed into law the new official date of June 2nd, citing it as the actual date when Italians voted in a referendum to abolish the monarch and create a republic. This, of course, drew criticism from a large faction of the public who prefer May 25th, 1943 -- the day of 'liberation' from Fascist rule. Suffice it to say that the marching band parades flanked by veterans come out on different days in different communities. Nothing closes and all public services function at their normal rates of efficiency.
Web Link: www.freeweb.org/freeweb/algo/index.htm
The Crostone Festival
Date:June 2nd
Where:Strozzacapponi
A celebration of this traditional cousin of bruschetta featuring a cock race.
The Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic
Date:June 2nd
Where:Migliano
Torchlight Parade with folk celebration and neighborhood district competition.
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:every second Sunday of the month
Where:Todi
An antiques and flea market is held in the Piazza del Popolo
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:every second Sunday of the month
Where:Spoleto
An antiques and flea market is held in the Piazza del Mercato
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:second weekend of the month with an annual fair in the spring
Where:Assisi
An antiques and flea market is held in the main piazza
Sagra del Pesce
Date: 2nd or 3rd week of June
Where: Calzolaro
The Calzolara Feast of the Fishes is rather akin t a county fair with dancing, games, rides, vendors and long plank tables filled with Italians enjoying fish in various forms. A good way to meet local people.
Spoleto Festival
Date:starts the last weekend in June and runs through the third weekend in July
Where:Spoleto
The Spoleto Festival used to be called the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) because it was twinned with an identical festival held in Charleston, South Carolina. Problems cropped up between the octogenarian founder of the festival, composer Giancarlo Menotti (who still runs the Italian festival) and the organizers in the United States, so the festivals were separated a few years ago. The five-week festival takes place in the hilltop city of Spoleto located in the heart of Umbria. It celebrates the performing, literary and visual arts with non-stop performances of opera, ballet, orchestral performances, prose readings, marionettes, contemporary theater, classic plays, chorale concerts and film debuts. There is a full schedule that includes world famous performers such as Nobel Prize winning satirist Dario Fo, Yo Yo Ma, Jacqueline Du Pre and the Moscow Choir. Information on the United States' festival can be obtained at: 843-722-2764 and for the Italian Festival at: (from within Italy) 800-565.600
Web Link: www.spoletofestival.net/
Web Link: www.umbria.org/Eventi/eng/evento.asp?id=27
Mercato delle Gaite
Date:the third week of June
Where:Bevagna
A weeklong medieval marketplace where the residents of the four neighborhoods (the 'Gaite') of Bevagna dress up just like they did centuries ago and compete to outdo one another in physical competitions, cook-offs, archery demonstrations and many other good-natured trials. There are non-stop demonstrations of techniques used by ancient craftsmen (iron workers, woodcarving, sewing, glass blowing, silk weaving, instrument creation and so on) so there is never a lack of interesting activity going on. Taverns stay open late and the music, dress, food and feel are genuine. Everyone joins in the fun. This is a gemstone of a city that is built on Roman ruins and should not be missed.
Web Link: www.argoweb.it/bevagna/bevagna.uk.html
Web Link: www.bevagna.it/mercato/index.html
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:third weekend of the month with an annual fair in the spring
Where:Gubbio
An antiques and flea market is held in the main piazza
Antique Furniture Market
Date:third weekend of the month, with an annual fair at the end of August
Where:Cortona
An antiques and furniture is held in the main piazza
Antiques Market
Date:third weekend of the month
Where:Citta di Castello
An antiques and flea market is held in the main piazza
Festa del Voto
Date:June 22nd
Where:Assisi
Festa del Voto offers dramatic torchlight parades and illuminations to commemorate Saint Chiara's miracle. (In 1241 she stopped the Saracen attack by showing the monstrance from a window of Saint Damiano's Church).
Web Link: listserv.american.edu/catholic/franciscan/tour/tour.html
Eve of the Feast of Saint John the Baptist
Date:June 23rd
Where:Grello
In this unpretentious village in northern Umbria, the entire village (six or hundred strong) turns out along with a number of visitors from neighboring towns. Most of the food is prepared at home by local women and brought into the piazza. Teams of young boys, each group of five representing a neighborhood in tiny Grello, light their firebrands (tall straw brooms) and race three times around the old walls of the castle on the crest of the hill holding their flames high for all to see. They race against each other, dashing back into the piazza, to light an enormous haystack set on a wooden wagon. Once the pile is ablaze, the five teammates set off at a dead run down the steep incline pulling the wagon behind them. From the top of the hill, the residents roar their approval as the blazing haystacks flash through the fields down below. Finally, as the winner arrives back in the main piazza, the entire town rushes to greet them in a maelstrom of cheering, yelling and hugging. The winning team gets to light an enormous Midsummer's Night bonfire in the center of town and the teenagers dance to live music until late into the night.
Festa of Madonna delle Carceri
Date:last week of June
Where:Montecastello di Vibio
Madonna delle Carceri's festival features a handcart race for the district's trophy.
Battle of Trasimeno Fish Sagra
Date:June 26th
Where:Tuoro sul Trasimeno
Commemoration of the Battle of Trasimeno features a Fish Festival and a big 'fry-up' of lake fish.
Around this time there is also a historic recreation, which features a nighttime rendezvous with the waiting armies.
Night of the Luminari
Date:4th Sunday
Where:Monteleone d'Orvieto
Luminari night is the historical 14th century costume commemoration of the candle offering to the patrons, Saints Pietro and Paolo.
New Europe Film Festival
Date:last week of June and first week of July
Where:Montone
This small, international film festival features films by independent filmmakers. Prior years' honorees have included Mike Leigh, Mike Figgis and Terry Gilliam. Montone is a tiny gem of a walled hilltown. Films are shown outdoors in the main piazza.
