Procession of dead Jesus | Comeana - Good Friday
The procession of the dead Jesus Redeemer of Comeana fraction of Carmignano is a historical-religious re-enactment that goes beyond the classic Via Crucis, recited through the streets of the town; a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages, when an image of a thousand words was worth more to explain the life of Christ or the saints to the people. It is not known exactly when the festival was born, its origins are however probably due to the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, which was founded in 1599.
Every three years, hundreds of people return to the square and recount in their own way, three days before Easter, the last hours of Jesus.
Organizing this great historical and religious re-enactment is a spontaneous committee of citizens, which meets in the months preceding the festival. The whole organization is based on volunteering: the procession at the end is a kilometer and a half long. There are those who think about directing, because in addition to thinking about the scenes, it is necessary to arrange and coordinate over 400 people and sixty horsemen on the street, there are those who sew costumes or work to fix the old ones.
On the evening of Good Friday, the re-enactment begins in Piazza Cesare Battisti in Comeana with a process, the one that in the Sanhedrin two thousand years ago saw Jesus Christ as protagonist in Palestine, and ends with the crucifixion between lightning and thunder recreated artfully, in the middle a procession of six kilometers through the streets of the town: parade with Jesus Pilate, the president of the Sanhedrin Caiaphas, Judas, Longinus and Crocifero and then the Palestinian women and patrician ladies, the legionaries and at the end the chariot of the Madonna.
In short, a great party, an event between faith and entertainment, highly sought after and cared for in every part from the historical aspect to the costumes.
Large Festival | Bacchereto - May
The organisational work is very long and complex and there are many aspects to consider, first of all the finding of the funds to make the event be successful.
The “Large Festival Committee” is responsible for all the arrangements of the festival: from the finding of the funds to the folkloristic aspects framing the festival, as well as the set-up of the float carrying the Virgin Mary, which will parades in the procession through the streets of the village.
The Large Festival Committee has very ancient roots and was born in order to organise the so-called Large Festival, the feast in honour of the Madonna of Piety in Bacchereto, celebrated since 1920.
Every year during the week that includes the first Tuesday in July, Comeana holds a traditional "fair" that was once a market for goods and livestock. Today the festive event offers street exhibitions of arts and crafts, shows and, as always, good food.
The fair consists of the Homemade Sweets Festival and the fireworks exploding on the evening of the 1st Tuesday in July, closing the fair and bidding farewell until the next year.
Each year on the night of 10 August, St. Lawrence’s feast day, wine lovers gather in the picturesque setting of Carmignano’s medieval fortress, to drink the most eagerly awaited toast of the summer: Calici di Stelle.
Organized by the Italian Wine-Producers Association, this national event offers a host of events in locations from the Val d'Aosta to Sicily. Wine and cultural activities, combined with the magic of these regions under the stars, are the winning combination for this event whose formula blends the philosophy of good wine with events, performances, art and design.
Since 2000, the local tourist office has organized a series of three-day events dedicated to the area’s great wines and local products. in addition to serving Carmignano’s DOC and DOCG wines in glass goblets, there is lots of music art, and tasty delicacies prepared by caterers, as well as telescopes aimed at the sky and entertainment for children.
First week of September. The little square of the ancient hamlet is animated by live music, card tournaments, dance performances, local handicraft little markets, painting exhibitions and guided tours to the church. For the entire duration of the festival, the great culinary stand is open offering really flavourful local dishes.
For more than 25 years, gourmets have been meeting at Poggio alla Malva’s for a celebration of polenta, porcini mushrooms, and wild boar, held the 2nd-3rd weekends of September.
This crowd-pleasing festival means that brings the village of Poggio alla Malva alive with visitors from all over the province and beyond.
This very popular village festival introduces the first products of the autumn season, offering dishes with polenta, wild boar and porcini mushrooms.
Sale of Carmignano’s dried fig production officially begins
Until recently, the Italian expression "fare le nozze coi fichi secchi" was synonymous with poverty and scarcity, with skimping. Thanks to its tasty figs, and the long tradition to which they bear witness, Carmignano has proved this popular saying wrong.
The dried figs of Carmignano are the most authentic representations of this area’s rural roots and culture. This remarkable product was even chosen by Filippo Mazzei, along with Carmignano’s wine, to take a bit of Tuscany to American soil. Today, Carmignano’s dried figs are a product recognized by Slow Food, as a presidium of quality to be protected and developed.
In addition to the official opening to the public of sales of the new crop of dried figs, the "Hurray for Dried Figs" program includes meetings, taste workshops, and other events, all aimed at developing this distinctive Tuscan product. The event is organized by the Town Councilor for Tourism and the Association of Dried Figs Producers, with the cooperation of the local tourism association.
The event is held every year in Carmignano on the third Sunday of October.
The Antiques Fair of Carmignano was once a traditional agricultural and livestock fair. It was the time during the year when even tenant farmers, men and women, with fewer economic opportunities could buy something not strictly essential: an umbrella, a pair of pants, a jacket, a new whip for the horse, or "Superiride" for re-dyeing clothes.
The shops acquired such goods as sal soda, sawdust, candy, ruddle, brushes, brooms, and ropes. For children, the fair meant having a small sum to spend on sweets and toys.
Even today, in the Medici hills of Prato, where the first Sangiovese was blended with cabernet to create a wine that is one of the oldest and smallest DOCG’s in Europe, a celebration is held with dried figs and other typical local gastronomic products during the week that includes the first Tuesday in December.
The town turns into a large table laden with the classic fettunta (thick slices of toasted bread drizzled with newly pressed olive oil), necci (chestnut flour crêpes), fritelle (a type of fritter) and castagnaccio (a chestnut flour cake), biscotti and the many other delicacies bought and enjoyed at the stalls or shops in the town.
The event is held in the town’s main square the first week of December.
