Fiera Sant’Egidio by Elisa Bullen

Fiera Sant’Egidio by Elisa Bullen

Tuesday, August 31, 2021: Fiera Sant’Egidio  

By Elisa Bullen

 

Tuesday, August 31 was the beginning of the Sant'Egidio fair in Lanciano, one of a series of festivities planned for the first couple of weeks in September. This fair originated as a tradition from ancient times where men who courted women would buy baskets full of fruit for their spouses or fiancés. In return, the ladies would purchase bells for their loved ones. The exchanging of gifts was considered a promise of love. Married couples with children bought their children wooden toys instead of exchanging gifts. The significance of the bell dates back to St. Egidio. He was an eighth-century Greek Benedictine monk. He would carry a bell to alert the sick and poor of his arrival. Now the tradition has evolved. The bell is purchased as a gift, usually by men to give to women or friends to buy for each other.

The fair had a very festive atmosphere. There were many vendors selling all sorts of things, such as jewelry, toys, food, and bells. There was a wide variety of bells for sale, of different sizes, designs and colours. Most bells had beautiful hand-painted designs on them. The vending booths were in the piazza and up the main street. It was a lot of fun to walk around and look at all these handmade objects the vendors were selling. It was interesting to learn how to bargain for our purchases and to talk to salespeople in Italian. It was strange to see so many people together still in this age of COVID but also lovely to witness people having fun, children running around with balloons in hand and the sound of bells since it was the first festival I have been to since vaccination protocols were put in place. I'm very excited to experience more of the Lanciano festivals and get a better grasp of community life here.