Ferragosto, festas and figs are all part of summer in Italy - especially in the month of August. As I mentioned this is the month of the Italian holiday - everyone takes a break from work - many for the entire month of August. It was never so apparent than during my recent trip to Rome. I was amazed at the lack of traffic. Yes there were lots of tourists but there was minimal traffic. In all the years I have been traveling to Italy and Rome I have NEVER seen it with no traffic. But here in the south - oh my - so many cars in these little villages. I can see why the locals (which I am now) do not like August. It is an invasion and makes daily life rather challenging. I experienced my first Ferragosto on August 15th.
What is Ferragosto? I always thought it was just a celebration of summer but I researched it a bit more and discovered it really is a religious holiday with a celebration of summer. From Wikipedia - "Ferragosto is an Italian and Sammarinese public holiday celebrated on 15 August, coinciding with the major Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary. By metonymy, it is also the summer vacation period around mid-August, which may be a long weekend (ponte di ferragosto) or most of August.[1]".
It reminded me of one of our summer holidays - everyone has picnics with family and friends or they go to the beach. Some of the villages do have a religious celebration and most have a special mass. My village only had a mass. The night before I stopped at the grocery store for a few items and I discovered a similar scene to back in the states - everyone buying their groceries for the parties the next day. There was nowhere to park and the lines to check out were extremely long. I didn't exactly celebrate Ferragosto but I did attend a birthday party/cookout for a cousin who was turning 16. It was just a family affair but I experienced my first BBQ as they call it. Italians do like to cook out - but interesting fact - they don't always use charcoal - they use wood. Wow - what flavor!!
And last night the parties continued. Sagras are another celebration or Festa. Again from wikipedia - "sagra (plural: sagre) is a local festival, very often involving food, and frequently a historical pageant and sporting events: when the sporting event is a historical recreation as well, such as a joust or a horse race in costume or armour, it is called a palio." The sagras I have attended so far just involve food. I have not experienced any with pageants or sports. But there is always cilentano music played by local musicians and lots of dancing.
Each village will celebrate different foods. I thought it was food specific to the village but that is not correct. It is just good Italian/cilentano food but each village will celebrate something specific. There will be other items as well to pick from. See our menu below - from our Sagra held in July.
Last night I attended the Sagra in Casalvelino Scalo - celebrating Parmigiana. Oh my check this out.
They also had chicken or sausage with French fries on their menu. Look at the amount of chickens on these grills. They even have their wine bottled for the Sagra.
Sagras do continue throughout the year. They are not just in summer so I look forward to experiencing more in the coming months.
So where do Figs fit into this story. August is the month when the figs start to ripen. I posted a picture on Facebook back in June of my first fig. That clearly was an early bloomer as August is the typical month for harvest. I have one fig tree in my front yard.
It is full and the figs are starting to ripen. Picking at the right time is important.
But what in the world do you do with all those figs? I am researching and learning. You can just eat them fresh off the tree or use them in recipes. They are a very healthy fruit and part of the very healthy Mediterranean diet. So far I have tried two new recipes with Figs. An appetizer with prosciutto, gorgonzola cheese (or goat cheese) and figs - yum. Or how about some Banana Fig bread.
But what most people do is dry them. When stored properly they will keep for months. You start by drying them in the sun for a few days on a special wooden tray - you can dry them whole or cut them in half and dry them. Once dry you can fill the ones cut in half with a nut or special flavoring. You then continue drying them in the oven for a short period of time.
The finished product - YUM!! You have them to enjoy all year long until next summer's harvest.
Buon appetito!
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