The traditional wedding and the historical ride in Bovino

Discover

The event characterizing the Bovine Summer for the year of Italian roots is the Emigrant Festival scheduled for 19 and 20 August, the period in which the Bovines returning home from abroad meet tourists curious to discover the small village.

This year the Pro Loco of Bovino and the Compagnia dell’Uovo have thought of a special tribute to the cultural roots of the town: the historical re-enactment of the “traditional wedding” (free participation but limited in number; reservation required).

The appointment is in the San Martino district, from Via Capodimonte to Via dei Bovinesi Emigrati up to Corso V. Emanuele.

It begins on August 19 with the so-called “sponsali”, ceremonies full of symbolic meanings, such as the preparation of the first bed – “lu liette” – decorated with petals and sugared almonds by the mothers-in-law.
The guests then take turns parading to admire the trousseau on display and pin banknotes on it as a wish for wealth and prosperity.
The first evening ends with the serenade for the bride, an unmissable event in many parts of Southern Italy, with the romantic concert that the groom dedicates to his beloved.

On August 20 we get to the heart of the wedding ceremony.
The bride – “la zita” in local dialect – dressed in white, leads the procession towards the church, and after the religious rite is at the center of the “banquet of the zita”, the wedding banquet in which the typical pasta that takes its name from the protagonist of the festival is served, naturally to the rhythm of traditional songs and dances.

The 29th of the month is another important date for Bovino: the Historical Cavalcade, which has been faithfully repeated for centuries on the day dedicated to Maria Santissima di Valleverde, patron saint of the city.
Musicians, flag-wavers, nobles and commoners, knights and horses are the protagonists of this centuries-old historical parade, one of the oldest of the Apulian tradition, which has its roots in the prestigious past of the City of Bovino, an important duchy of the court of the Kingdom of Naples: traditionally, in fact, the Guevara Dukes for the occasion opened their stables and made horses and carriages available to travel the route from the Sanctuary to the town.
The procession, which is attended by the highest city, military and religious authorities of the neighboring towns, the Province and the ancient Diocese, each with its own banner, takes place in solemn form and consists of paintings in period costume that evoke the most important moments of Bovine history starting from the Middle Ages (the time of the apparition) to end with the twentieth-century painting characterized by knights on horseback.
In an intense and spectacular atmosphere, the Cavalcata is the “postcard” par excellence, a moment of aggregation and of great cultural and identity value for the village of Bovino.

The events received the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for the realization of cultural activities in favor of Italian descendants, to be carried out for the Year of Italian Roots.