fuochi di san giovanni

On the Eve, the 23rd, bonfires are lit on the lawn of the Rocca and on the surrounding hills, where farmers reply by setting fire to the stubbles to declare the end of the harvest. Tradition that belonged to the ancient pagan celebrations of thanksgiving for the harvest, then transformed, like many others, into a religious one. The festival begins with the distribution of the ‘’rificolone’’, paper lanterns with a candle inside, of Florentine inspiration linked to a rod, which are used to light the way for those who climb to the tower. Together with the ‘’rificolone’’people are given "la mosca", an ear of wheat tied with a head of garlic on top of a pole, and then baked in the ashes of the bonfires. Garlic and the ear are pagan symbols with a double meaning: scaring away evil spirits and protecting the crops of the future harvests.