FOCARA FESTIVAL: The night of Fire in Puglia!
Novoli is a small town nearby Lecce (Puglia, Italy) and during the days between 16 and 18 of January it becames a great attractive centre for tourists from each parts of Italy, thanks to the yearly event “La Fòcara Festival”, a great Southern Italy Festival with the largest fire in the Mediterranean basin.
This traditional event, between the sacred and the profane, is dedicated to the memory of St. Antonio Abate, the Patron Saint and protector of Novoli and it requires the participation of each Novoli citizens
The focara is made of the prunings and cuttings of vines after the grape harvest of the previous autumn. The enormous construction has the form of an inverted cone and measures approximately 25 meters high with a diameter of 20 meters.
This year the distinctive features of the enormous pyre will be designed by the artist Jannis Kounellis , under the artistic direction of Giacomo Zaza; Kounellis will also carry out works in limited edition, designed in exclusive reference to the event.
The 16th of January, in the morning a human-chain will hoist the image of St.Antonio on the top of the construction. In the afternoon the animals are blessed and at nightfall the fire is lighted, together with firework, music, dance and typical local food.
So during the three-days festival you can listen to live music concerts of international and italian artists; moreover walking by the town you can taste Salento typical dishes and products and watch artistic exhibitions (this year Kounellis bring out an own work) .
So don’t wait more! 16 January is coming up! Ready to light the fire of discovery?!
Author: Paolo Casavola
