Masera’s “Festa dell’Uva” (Grape Harvest Festival) is one of the oldest and most appreciated food festivals in Ossola Valley; dating back to 1925, it marked the end of the harvest period before the well-deserved winter break. Although preserving the original connection with the Ossola farm heritage, Masera’s grape harvest festival has changed over the years and included new programmes and activities both for adults and children to the local wine and food samples.
The pasta e bajan rustìa (short pasta shapes baked in the oven with flat beans and melted ossolano cheese), grilled meat, including the typical mutun à la saü, polenta, bollito misto (a traditional dish from northern Italy, essentially a stew of different cuts of meat simmered in broth) home-made cakes and other delicacies are some of the products visitors can have a sample of.
Traditionally on the first evening of the festival, the replica of a large ox is hung on the bell tower; this marks the beginning of the socalled “Tira Martìgn che ul bhò u gigna” nursery rhymes, which is recited in Ossola dialect by the children of the town. The firework display on Saturday night, the grand float parade, folk bands and groups on Sunday and the spectacular donkey contest, or “palio”, on Monday make Masera’s traditional grape harvest festival, organized with passion by generations of local people, even more enjoyable.
Info: www.festadelluvamasera.it / info@festadelluvamasera.it
