The festival of the Focara of Novoli
If you come to Puglia in wintertime you better be informed about one of the most folkloristic fire shows taking place few kilometers away from the famous city of Lecce, in the Salento area: the Focara of Novoli conceived to celebrate Sant’Antonio Abate.
The origin
The devotion to the Saint dates back to 1664 when the Bishop decided to elect him as Saint Patron of the town. The 17th January is the date of the celebration but the the festival officially starts on 7th January with the first ritual of “the enthroned saint” while ends on 18th January.
The legend says that in winter, when there was no chance for people to have some fire to get warm, it was asked to Sant’Antonio to go to the Underworld with his little pig and ask for it; then he could come back with his cane on flame and light up the very first fire for people on earth. That’s why the Saint is considered everywhere the protector of the domestic and farm animals and of course the protector of the fire, also conceived as purification through its ashes.
The preparation and celebration
The organization of the Focara of Novoli starts on 17th December and several people participate to it. First of all the farmers collecting the vineyard cut
tings and trimmings in bundles after the grape harvest made in September.
Then on 7th January the members of the festival together with plenty of volunteers starts to pile up about 100.000 bundles in the shape of an inverted cone: they create a huge structure measuring 20 meters of diameter and reaching 25 meters high.
The 16th January is an incredible moment calling up to 60.000 visitors per year: the Focara of Novoli is finally lit on, surrounded by enchanting fireworks, stalls of typical products, concerts and the ritual of the animal blessing together with the ones connected to the Saint devotion.
A traditional and religious celebration absolutely not to miss and a good chance to taste the local Negroamaro red wine just to help getting even more warm and social!
