TRADITIONS OF COMO
Festivity of the Madonna of Loreto
Lanzo D' Intelvi
Last saturday, Sunday and monday of January
The festivity is composed from three processions, most solemn of which is that one that carries out the evening of Sunday. To the eve of the festivity the taking the habit of the Black Madonna happens, completed in secret from a narrow group of women, that they cover the simulacrumof a fastoso embroidered mantle. the reason of this confidentiality is the fact that the image is constituted simply from a pannier, on which is fixed the head of the Vergine. In the procession children carry banners or small sculture with raffiguration of religious mysteries, or disguised appear figures of saints, from the catholic traditional iconography.
Racing silk of bonfires
Lezzeno
18 March In occasion of the festivity of
S. Giuseppe are prepared numerous bonfires: between the districts of the country a competition is carried out in order to construct the fire larger and beautiful. To the better successful bonfire it comes assigned a prize.
Carnival
Schignano
Week of Carnival
This Carnival is characterized from the contrast between two groups of participants, Beautiful and the Ugly ones. The Beautiful ones disguise in house with the aid of the women of the family: every element of their custom is to indicate elegance. They wear a great hat decorated of flowers and one falled of tapes multicolors; on the chest necklaces carry, chain stitches, clocks; the dress is manifactured with colors shawl. The face of the Beautiful ones is hidden from splendid masks in wood, from the features a lot marks but not caricatura. To the belt they carry particular cowbells in bronze and they carry in hand objects like small dolls, mirrors and snuffboxes that they show with gestures the persons of the public. The Ugly ones are prepared instead in stables and barns outside of the country and their disguise is in every particular in contrary of that one of the Beautiful ones: they cover of cover of job, of sheep skins, stuff of hay, straw, leaves of corn until becoming of all the shapeless ones, they are put on the full shoulders pannier and carry one old suitcase. On the head the Ugly ones are put large horns of ox and wear masks of wood of dark color and from the often twisted features; they run here and making to resound their iron cowbells, they are rolled for earth, they fall to the ground like dead men. Some of the Beautiful ones drag, tied to the belt with a rope, the own slave-wife, the
Ciocia (in truth a
travestito man) that shout against the husband-landladies, insult it, and throw the completed dissipations and acts of infidelity while it is forced to remain in house to work and to attend to the sons. The tuesday before Ashes, the masks of the Beautiful ones and the Ugly ones exits alone or to small groups and rambles for the roads of the country, in order then to gather in a square preceded from the two figures of the Sapeur, that is the
Zappatori, that they must open the procession, as in the parades of the armies of the napoleonical age. Between they it detaches a masked personage does not call Sicurtà, that is Safety, destined to guarantee the pacific development of the Carnival. When cove the evening, dragged on one slips appears Carlisep, a puppet that it represents the dying Carnival. The attempt to revive it does not succeed and therefore it is decided to burn it, but this Carlisep point it jumps in feet and run away. All useless because it comes resumed, replaced with a true puppet, brought back in public square and burnt.
The Marziröö
Sorico
First March
Boys and children passes of house in house playing horns and cowbells. As soon as it enters in the houses they make noise with their instruments and receive small gifts, in particular
polenta flour, that they will serve for one supper in common to the evening. Analogous ceremonies destined to announce the spring and to re wake up the nature are carried out also in
Valtellina and the Native of
Bergamo.
The Giubiana
Albavilla
Last thursday of January the
Giubiana is a leggendary personage, personification of the evil, whose name derives from
"giobia", is worth to say thursday, day in which it was thought riunited the witches. In this festivity the
Giubiana is represented from enormous puppet a grotesque one, that it comes carried in turn for the country in a procession of masks and personages in custom, between which they detach brothers of Good the Dead women and the executioner dressed of red. To the end of the distance the
Giubiana comes hoisted on the fire and given to flames. Manifestation analogous is carried out in other localities, like
Busto Arsizio,
Cantù,
Guanzate and
Lurago d' Erba.
Racing silk of the Baradello
First and second saturday and Sunday of september.
In the 1159 emperor Federico Barbarossa reaches
Como with the wife
Beatrice of
Borgogna in order to thank of the important given military aid gives it to city for the defeat of Milan. In that occasion the people of
Como great festivity paid on the credit side emperor one, with lights, equestrian banquets, matches and contests about the lake. The Racing silk of the
Baradello takes the name from a castle constructed from the same
Barbarossa in that age, of which they remain
mastio and the curtain on a height that dominates the city. The manifestation puts into effect them is born in years ' 70. They participate one ten of squares, in representation of the villages of
Como and other localities on the coast of the lake. The first saturday, in Public square of the Dome carries out the ceremony of opening of the Racing silk, with figuring and flag-wavers. The first Sunday, to
Villa Grass of
Cernobbio is previewed the test of the
saracena fair: in race on horse, it is necessary to hit a small disc of the
saracino. The second saturday to
Como, in cavour public square the
"cariolata" is run: a conductor pushes a wheelbarrow in which he has placed a lead second, with which then he exchanges himself. Second Sunday, in waters of the lake the regatta of the lucie is carried out, contest with the typical boats comasche. To the competitions they are binds together also processions in custom, historical reconstructions and other attractions.
Patronal Festivity of the Madonna of the Snow
Pusiano
4,5 August
In
Pusiano finds a sanctuary dedicated to the Madonna of the Snow, whose recurrence falls 5 August; the festivity has ancient origins. Practical the religious ones carry out in a frame: the houses and the country, the boats and the lake is illuminated with the traditional ones lumit and balunit, lunches to the open and fires of artifice are kept
