Feste, Sagre, Fiere, Mercati in Friuli-Venezia Giulia by Paola Mancini and Adriano Del Fabro is primarily a guide to the festivals and markets of FVG, though as I’ll get to in a moment, there are a few recipes scattered throughout as well. The book consists of three sections, the first dedicated to “Sagre, feste e tradizioni” (festivals and traditions), followed by shorter chapters on “Fiere e mostre” (fairs and exhibitions) and “Mercati” (markets).
Each chapter is organized by province—Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste, and Udine—and further sorted by month. This would come in handy when planning a trip, such as the July visit I spent hopping from one food festival to the next. However, given that the publication date of this edition is 1999, I’m not sure how much of the information is still current. Nevertheless, the descriptions of various events, such as Sacile’s Sagra dei Osei (festival of songbirds) and the Nozze Carsiche (Carsic weddings) in Monrupino, provide a compelling window into the culture of this region.
Several of the food festivals I attended are listed here: Festa del Prosciutto (Sauris), Mondo delle Malghe (Ovaro), Festa dei Frutti di Bosco (Forni Avoltri), and Festa della Zucca (Venzone). I noticed a few more events that I’d wanted to go to but the timing hadn’t worked out, such as Carnevale Muggesano (I was actually in Muggia that day, but the parade was canceled due to rain) and Friuli D.O.C. (a massive exhibit of local products in Udine that boasts the tagline “Vini–vivande–vicende–vedute”). Another caught my eye as it seemed like an especially fun experience: the “discesa della Befana” at Grotta Gigante, an event celebrating Epiphany (January 6), where a couple dozen spelunkers dress up as the witch Befana and various religious characters and then lower themselves from a height of over 100 meters into the cavern to bring gifts to the children.
In addition to the extensive event calendar, the book features a number of special text blocks dedicated to traditions such as the ancient craft of woodworking and the Viennese-style cafés of Trieste; notable sights, including the Castello di Torre in Pordenone and Rupingrande’s Casa Carsica; typical products such as cheeses and wine; and lists of specialty shops where you can shop for all sorts of artisanal foods and locally crafted items.
Most useful to me personally were the three recipes provided. Two are rather predictable, being among the well-known signature dishes of Friuli. One of them, frico, is presented as merely a cheese pancake, with potatoes being an optional addition. The other is gubana delle Valli del Natisone, a spiral cake filled with dried fruit and nuts. Here, the author adds chocolate to the filling, which is not unheard of but perhaps more typical of Trieste’s similarly shaped cake called putizza. The third recipe was more of a surprise, as it is not one I would have expected to see included in such a modest selection: pinza della Bassa. Pinza is a sweet bread traditionally prepared for Easter. The Triestine version I’m most familiar with is enriched with butter and egg, with lemon and orange zest being the only added flavors. The variation in this book is from the Bassa Friulana, the low-lying area of Friuli that comprises the southernmost parts of Pordenone, Udine, and Gorizia provinces. It is much the same as Triestine pinza but with the addition of cornmeal, raisins, dried figs, and walnuts.
The final section, “Mercati,” is by far the shortest. The majority of the markets listed here are antique markets, but there are also some that specialize in local crafts, vintage cars, or even livestock. Other markets pop up for a specific holiday, such as Carnevale or Christmas. A schedule for weekly markets in various towns is provided as well.
