Chuìga Festival

In the picturesque setting of one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in Italy" every year the "Sagra della Ciuìga" is held, a particular cured meat produced in the Banale Plateau. It was originally a sausage made from a large quantity of white turnip to which scraps of meat and pork blood were added, flavored with pepper and garlic; a symbol of the poverty in which the area found itself at the end of the 19th century. Ciuìga was then dried in the former dairy of San Lorenzo, and its name comes from a dialect term meaning "pine cone," reminiscent of the consistency of the sliced meat at the end of the drying process. Over the years, the original recipe was gradually improved and made tastier, arriving at the production of a product of excellence, a Slow Food Presidium. Today, in fact, the sausage is prepared with the noble parts of the pig and a small part of white turnip, and to this basic preparation each producer adds his own touch to create a more or less intense flavor. To celebrate this tasty product, the first weekend of November sees the "Sagra della Ciuìga," where the sausage is offered in different forms and recipes, including the most traditional paired with potatoes and chicory. In addition, the festival is enlivened by musical concerts and theatrical performances, as well as the opportunity to visit the village's splendid wine cellars.