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Saint Anthony’s floats: the tradition symbolizing the community’s roots
Along with 7 municipalities in Lower Molise, Tavenna is hosting the Festival of Molise Roots, sharing a calendar full of events and in particular a festival dedicated to the religious feast in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua that will take place on June 13.
The Municipality of Tavenna is participating in the Call for Proposals to strengthen the link between the town and its community abroad, the largest being Argentina, in order to help the descendants of emigrant families to reestablish cultural ties with their country of origin and to encourage tourism and return and any form of knowledge, remotely and/ or in presence, of the country from which their ancestors left. Tavenna enjoys a 360-degree view between rolling hills, the Majella mountains and the sea. Tavenna’s gastronomy traces Molise’s peasant tradition.
The Festivity in honor of St. Anthony, which is strongly identifiable to the community present abroad, is part of a Unesco-sponsored enhancement project that sees the festival and the parade of ox-drawn carts as an invaluable heritage.
Thesetting up of the floats is organized about a month before the event in parent groups to beautify them and rehearse along the streets of the town. It is a community moment that allows tourists and returning residents to enhance a sense of belonging. The parade of floats in the small village of Tavenna, boasts the special feature of bobbin lace with the most beautiful and valuable hems coming out of the trousseau closets for the occasion. “Tavenna bobbin lace” then, becomes the strong link of cultural and historical heritage with the distant community, in which even today, it is practiced by some ladies abroad.
The event officially begins on June 13 with the gathering of the floats in the early morning hours, which will accompany, together with a musical band, the procession in honor of St. Anthony through the streets of the town. In the afternoon, the floats will parade accompanied by a Molise folk group and with the organization of banquets by the “carristi” for free tasting of typical local food and wine products. An exhibition on the phenomenon of emigration and a demonstration on working techniques by the local lace-making school will be organized inside the Craft Museum.
Days
13 June 24
14 June 24
Timetable
10:30 - 00:00
Information/To know
Suitable for Everybody
Wheelchair accessible
Location/The place
Address
Viale Regina Elena, 1, 86030 Tavenna, CB, Italia
How to get there
By air Pescara Airport (approx. 103 km) Naples Airport (approx. 168 km) Rome Ciampino Airport (approx. 237 km) Rome Fiumicino Airport (approx. 266 km) From each airport it is possible to continue by train or bus to Termoli. By train To reach the Termoli train station consult the website of the Ferrovie dello Stato www.ferroviedellostato.it/ From the Termoli train station it is possible to walk 10 min to the bus terminal from which you can take one of the connections to Tavenna By bus To reach Guardialfiera from the Termoli bus terminal you can consult the website of "SATI" http://www.satiautobus.com/Default.aspx From the north: along the road axis of the Adriatica (A14 highway) exit Vasto Sud, follow the signs for Montenero di Bisaccia at the crossroads of which there are clearly visible signposts indicating the distance to travel to reach the municipality. From the south: along the Adriatic road axis exit at the Termoli-Molise highway exit, take the SS647 ¨Bifernina¨ state highway (Campobasso direction) to the junction for Palata/Larino where clearly visible signs indicate the distance to travel to reach the municipality; from Rome exit S. Vittore highway A1 or from Naples exit Caianello and continue to Venafro-Isernia from where you take the SS650 ¨Trignina¨ in the direction of Vasto with exit at the Mafalda junction where clearly visible signs indicate the distance to travel to reach the municipality.
