Archive for October 2015

Eurochocolate Perugia

Friday, 16 October 2015

Is there actually anything better than a whole festival dedicated to chocolate? Some might say wine, but thats been and gone and you can read about it here. 

Back to chocolate though...the annual Euro Chocolate festival that has been running since the early 90‘s descends on the city of Perugia, the capital of the region of Umbria every mid October and lasts for a whopping 10 days! How’s that for a sagra!

Thousands of people descend upon the city for the world famous festival

Some 300,000 choco loving visitors descend on the city and devour 50 tons of the delicious chocolate on offer during the 10 day affair. The ancient Etruscan town of Perugia, (an obvious place to host such a festival given the fact the city gave the world the Perugina company that produces the famous 'baci' chocolate) is turned into an open air chocolate factory. The stony streets are buzzing with swarms of tourists hopping between the numerous stands that line the streets selling their chocolatey delights. Shows, exhibitions, workshops, tastings, presentations animate the centre all to the soundtrack of chocolate themed sounds blasted out on speakers dotted around the city.



Many exhibitions involving chocolate take place during the 10 day event 




So how does it work? 

Even for the biggest chocolate enthusiast, the festival could be a little overwhelming. Although there are many stands offering up their goods, not many do free samples, therefore in order to sample everything, it would mean buying ALOT of chocolate! A way to get around it is to buy the ‘Chococard’ and for a small cost of 5 euros you have around 10 free samples which you can collect on your way around the festival. This way you get to try everything on offer and you can buy whatever catches your eye or whatever you like the best! It also offers discounts and offers should you want to buy anything (which you will!)













Samples for the adults among the festival goers - baileys chocolate liqueur
Aside from the world famous chocolate festival, Perugia itself is a delightful place to visit and well worth exploring, albeit not so easy in the masses of people. Take some time away from the choco madness to go to the gorgeous square, marvel at the fountain and the Umbrian architecture!


The medieval Fontana Maggiore





A word of warning - If you are planning to visit during the festival you need to be prepared for the crowds.


If you have a sweet tooth, the good news is the 2015 edition of the chocolate festival starts this weekend (16th October) and runs until the 25th. 

All information about the festival can found at -http://www.eurochocolate.net/programma-eurochocolate-2015/

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Roma Chocolate 2015 - Castelli di cioccolato 2015

Friday, 9 October 2015




Following on from my last post, the small town of Marino in the Castelli Romani region of Lazio will be in the spotlight once again after the wine festival last weekend however this time with a festival dedicated to all things chocolate! 

Following the success of the festival last year, from 9th to the 11th of October (this weekend!) the small town of Marino will host the 'Castelli di cioccolato' and its usually quiet streets will once again be packed with festival goers this time eager to taste some chocolate delicacies!

During the festival, which will be held in the historic centre of Marino on Corso Trieste and in Piazza San Barnaba, the family friendly festival will include a variety of activities. Children can learn how to create chocolate treats, there will be a tasting stand with chocolates to try as well as a spa wellness section with massages and cocoa focused cosmetics. 

There will also be Federico Prodon, teacher at the cooking school "At the Table with the Chef", maybe more commonly known as the protagonist of the second season of the television program 'Bake off Italy', who will be the star of the cooking show scheduled for the Saturday from 5 to 7pm.

This year, in order to celebrate the Expo in Milan, there will be a space dedicated to delicacies from various countries, that are currently being showcased in Milan, so you will be able to enjoy and taste not only the delights of delicious Italian chocolate but also chocolate from all over the world!

If you can't make it to Euro chocolate,  the huge chocolate festival which takes place in Perugia later this month, this will be an excellent alternative as its just a short train ride away from Rome, a fun day out. 

Tickets from Rome termini - Marino cost 2.10 one way 

Ciao for now 

Zoe 




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Sagra dell'uva Marino - Wine festival in Marino

Wednesday, 7 October 2015



Turning water into wine? 
Sounds like most wine lovers dream. 

The Marino wine festival or the Sagra dell'Uva Marino makes that happen. A short train ride away from Rome, the medieval town of Marino is one of the 13 towns of the wine-producing Castelli Romani, situated 21 kilometres south of Rome. 

Historically, Marino was a summer resort for Roman emperors who built luxurious villas there and the area has been famous for its wine since that time.

The event, typically held on the first Sunday of October, is one of the oldest 'Sagra dell'Uva' and certainly one of the most famous. The festival commemorates the return of Admiral Marcantonio Colonna to his home in Marino after his victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571. The town of Marino sent 260 sailors to the battle, the sagra is celebrated on the first Sunday of October to give thanks for their safe return. In 1925 the marinese poet Leone Ciprelli, aware of dying traditions, had the idea of holding a grape festival to celebrate this event and has grown in fame and extravagance. 

The annual grape festival attracts over 100,000 people that crowd its ancient cobbled streets. The usually quiet streets are elaborately decorated on the festival day, balconies are decorated with flowers, statues that guard the main fountains in the town are adorned with kilos of grapes which hang from their mouths and cheekily dangle over their private parts. 





 In the morning there is a religious procession to thank the Madonna del SS. Rosario. 

The event includes a procession, music and period costumes.











Then, in the afternoon, there is a re-enactment of the return of Marcantonio Colonna, about 500 people dressed in period costume old and young parading proudly down the streets.
A friend of mine at this years festival was delighted to be dragged into the parade 


The highlight of the festival occurs at around 5 pm, when the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives, there is a blessing and then the main fountain of the town, the 'Fountain of the Four Moors' starts flowing with golden white wine which is distributed freely amongst the crowd. 



And flow it does...around 5,000 litres of wine gushes out the fountain for one hour! As the wine is distributed freely, it's a good idea to take some plastic cups with you!
Grapes are also given out by locals - my friend Anna Maria, happy with her grapes 
Something I do find hilarious is that in 2008, at the festival, as the crown eagerly waited with their glasses to taste the wine about to gush from the fountain, the eagerly awaited wine was actually water, as due to bad plumbing, the wine was directed to the homes of the people living around the square who got the wine coming out of their taps!

The festival also has local producers selling their wines for around 1 euro a glass. There are also food stands selling porchetta, hot spit fire roasted pork, stuffed into white bread traditional in the Castelli Romani area, fritti (fried snack foods) such as olive ascolane and mozzarelline and various sweet treats, all substantial enough to keep you going throughout the day or soak up the guaranteed wine intake. 




If you are going to be in the Rome area on the first Sunday in October, the festival is a fun and free day of entertainment and is an opportunity to visit a real italian ‘sagra’ and of course taste free of charge, some wine from the Castelli region. Just a word of warning, whilst tourists are very welcome, it isn't aimed just for tourists, but for locals and visitors alike. Not unlike any town city centre in England on a Saturday night, when wine flows freely, the crowd can get a little rowdy and boisterous. This would probably be an ideal time to hop on the train back to Rome. The last train is around ten in the evening. If too many wines have been consumed, thankfully, the walk is a downhill one directly to the station, where you will find other suitably wine filled revellers, hanging out of the packed train windows. 


If you can't make the main festival then the younger, sister 'Sagra della Ciambella al Mosto' is held on the following Sunday.  A ciambella al mosto is a local bun soaked in and cooked with the skins and left overs from the grape pressing.

photo credit - www.photocastelli.it
Trains leave from Roma Termini station - Marino and the journey takes around 40 minutes. Tickets cost - 2.10 each way. Be warned the train gets extremely packed and a little uncomfortable. 
Some festival goers deciding that the train luggage compartments would be a better option
Ciao for now

Zoe 










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