Most of our events have old origins. A simple life full of humanity and communion spirit. This represents what Villar Focchiardo residents wish to teach us, to love and to respect.
On the first Saturday in Lent (in February or in March), you can participate in the
"Falò di Carnevale" (Carnival Fire). This tradition figures the farmers past life, when people used to gather around a fire burning branches and leaves gathered from gardens and fields. A puppet, representing an old well-dressed woman (the veja), used to be placed on the branches forming the fire. The puppet burned quickly or slowly. This burning puppet represented the end of winter and, depending the on how the puppet burnt, was predicted the harvest to be good or not.
Another important meeting is the Rievocazione storica della Passione di Cristo
(representation of the Christ Passion), on the Holy Friday.
For this occasion, dozens of friends, dressed in the old Roman time fashion, play a representation of the Christ’s last moments. This tradition started in the late 18th century.
A lot of Christ trial episodes and his final sentence to death take place in the local church, which originally took place at Sanhedrin. His way of cross is figured along the local streets accompanied by a crowd of people with torches. Several meetings take place on the way to the Calvary, including Christ’s three falls, Virgin Mary and Magdalene’s meetings.
The final scene takes place in the darkness of the church with thunder and lightnenings. At this moment will be represented the most touching moment of Christ story: the deposit of the cross.
On the 1st of May takes place
"Villar Focchiardo in fiore" (“Villar Focchiardo in flower day”) an old feast for spring, which used to announce the awakening of nature following winter time.
This event corresponds today to the village feast in which two people will represent for the 12 next months Count and Countess Carroccio, who are Villar Focchiardo noble family, accompanied by their court. All the people are dressed as in the older days. Other groups in costumes are invited. Tourists arriving for this event will have also the opportunity to discover our village with its architecture and countryside.
During "Autunno villarfocchiardese"
(Villar Focchiardo Autumn) in Septemberare celebrated Saint Cosma and Saint Damiano feasts, the village protectors. Almost all the local associations take part in this event to organise the two major events: the race of the motorless carts (or very original home-made cars), whith their own international championship.
On the 26th of September on Saint Cosma and Saint Damiano’s day the
Concerto di gala della Società Filarmonica (Concert of the Philharmonic Association),
takes place one of the four musical events (with the spring, summer and winter concerts).
Thanks to our records, we know that Villar Focchiardo had two annual fairs since 1863: the first took place on the third Thursday of April and the other one on the second Sunday of October. Usually only crops and animals were sold on the first one and it corresponded to our “Villar Focchiardo in Flower day”. The second fair was dedicated to chestnut selling and buying. It corresponds to the actual
"Sagra Valsusina del Marrone e Mostra Mercato dei prodotti agricoli,
ortofrutticoli, artigianali e commerciali valsusini" (Chestnut Annual Fair, Exposition and Agriculture Products Market of the Susa Valley).
The contest of the heaviest chestnut takes place on the Thursday before this event. The winner is the competitor who will have the heaviest weight with 50 chestnuts. Several local producers participate to this contest to try to beat the record which change each year and which are between 1300 and 1600 grams.
The same chestnuts can also be prepared an arrangement and expose during the event to participate the Chestnut Arrangement Contest.
Chestnut trees implantation on our mountains seemed to happen in the first millenary: a tree can live for about 500 years and the older ones were between Villar Focchiardo and San Giorio where, by the end of the 13th century, Templars were owners of one of biggest chestnut trees fields of the Susa Valley.
There are about 300 different kinds of chestnuts trees, , but chestnuts have particular characteristics that pastry cooks know well when they want to cook frozen chestnuts, exported world-wide, even to Australia.
Currently, the approbation of the IGP qualification (certification attesting that chestnuts are originally from Susa Valley) by the Ministry of Agriculture is still pendent.
Chestnuts are symbol of our village and, in 1979, two characters were created:
Pero the Desbator,
who beats the chestnuts trees with his stick to make chestnuts fall, and
Gepa the Rapoloira, the woman who gathers the fallen chestnuts. These two characters not only take part to the Chestnuts Fair but also go to other villages where Villar Focchiardo representatives in costumes use to meet other people accompanied by the
brusatairo (people in charge to burn chestnuts in order to cook them), and the
Barbis du Vilé (musicians).
In December the Villar Focchiardo Christmas Crib.
takes place which offers a picture of tents and happiness. Along the streets, more than 200 human size wood sculptures, painted by hand, represent the old jobs and currents and old pictures. First conceived by the Bottinelli husbands with the collaboration of the residents of the village of Castagneretto, this event takes place now in the whole village.
The Nativity Crib is in this village in a stable. If you take the time to look inside of the window, you will have a wonderful view... We suggest you come to see this stable during daytime, or just after dusk to enjoy the different effects produced by light and shadows.
For more information visit the official site of the
Christmas crib in Villar Focchiardo
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