Two historic events are revived during this festival: the trial of the Masca Fiorina by the Inquisition, and the battle of the "Montanesi" against the invading French troops lead by General Nicolas Catinat. These revivals are performed by more than 500 "Montanesi" dressed and armed as they once must have. The festivities are very well organized, performances are very realistic, and the food is great. The streets of the historic Centre host magics, historic plays, costumed corteges, fights, shoot-outs and the likes.
At 8:00 p.m. on Saturday the visitor can dine at the Masca Fiorina's porterhouse or in any of the open air stands installed on the streets and courtyards of the historic Centre of Montà. Dinner at the porterhouse costs € 15.00, and a reservation is welcomed, whereas snacks in the open air stalls, which include a different dish on each plus a glass of wine, will cost you € 3.00/4.00 per serving. Reservations can be made by calling 393-9019347 or 0173-976181. At 10:00 p.m. the historic trial of Masca Fiorina is revived by more than 100 costumed actors.
Then live music and dancing on the streets.
Sunday's festivities start with breakfast in the San Michele square: a personality will entertain the crowd with stories about Montà in the '600. This is followed by wine and honey tasting, and by a lunch which features dishes eaten in the 16th Century. During lunch forward observers will have spotted the French troops advancing trough the fields and closing in: the Montanesi prepare in a hurry to meet the advancing enemy: after a few attempts by the French commander to impress on the Montanesi that they should surrender, the Montanesi are attacked twice but they come out victorious: the French retreat to save their skins. The celebration continues with the "Palio degli Asini" (donkey race) in which each district races the best donkey it has been able to find and train. Food and drinks are served on the street and open air stalls as in the evening before. The festivities end officially with the burning of Montà, revived through the evening fireworks at 10 p.m.
This eighth Salone del Gusto establishes the event’s international profile and confirms it as a key date in the calendar of everyone around the world who cares deeply about food. The Salone del Gusto and its parallel event, Terra Madre, have by now become two inseparable and interconnected halves, in constant dialog with each other. They offer perhaps the only place in the world where peasants and artisan producers, academics and chefs, wine connoisseurs and novice food lovers can come together in a spirit of exchange and friendship.
A dense network of relationships is created here on behalf of food that is sustainable and can still transmit joy, food restored to its true value. The Salone del Gusto is educational, because it is about learning, knowing, comparing and discovering, but always in the name of a right to responsible and fully shared pleasure.
The Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre are above all a festival, celebrating what we eat and the people who make it.
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