Walking in the streets of Cupra Montana in this beautiful season means to smell the unmistakable flavour of sweet grapes, wine and must! And this is not only because there are many wine cellars busy with the vendemmia (the grape harvest), but also because the sacred Sagra dell’Uva is approaching!
Yes, sacred. For the inhabitants of Cupra Montana, the cuprensi, the long weekend of the Sagra dell’Uva (from Thursday to Sunday) is a sort of reference point: “Scì, però ne riparlamo dopo la festa dell’uva” (“Alright, but we’ll discuss it after the festival”). This Festival has even a double name: the more serious Sagra, and the goliardic Festa (party). Because that’s what it is: a four day never stopping party!
The real protagonist is, without saying, the grapes and the wine, the Verdicchio wine. You can spot the grape everywhere in the center, as well as the Verdicchio, to be drunk literally everywhere! In the little square, Piazza IV Novembre, where you can have serious tasting, or even in the majestic MIG, Musea in Caves, for a whole lecture about the wine and guided wine tasting, as well.
Working at the Sagra dell’Uva
However, if you are not looking for anything too sophisticated, you can walk in in one of the several cappanne, the stands, a real art masterpiece. They belong to the local associations, and each of it is meticulously decorated. Of course, where there is wine there is also delicious food! And in the cappanne you can really find everything you starve for, local, of course! And delicious, but that’s obvious. Everything is done BY HAND!
Live concert
The first edition of this festival dates back to 1928, which makes it one of, if not the oldest Sagra in Le Marche. And in order to recall some very old traditions, on Saturday afternoon there is also the competition of pigiatura (the crashing of the grapes, done with bare foot, as in earlier times). What’s more, everywhere you can find people dancing and playing traditional songs, with very particular and old instruments. You can say that there is still the scent of the local tradition all around Cupra Montana.
But if you’re looking for something more modern, you can attend the concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of very famous singers! But hurry up, because the square can be quite crowded!
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- Playing traditional song
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- Pigiatura
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- Grapes and wine
And last, but not least, you can enjoy the defile of the masquerade wagons (carri allegorici). Of course, they are decorated with grapes, they represent grapes-like scenarios, they talk about wine and grapes and they are majestically created by young people of Cupra Montana: a real commitment of these people, which turns out to become a real achievement! Unfortunately the actors speak in dialect, but it’s real fun also watching them playing!
Lastly, the fireworks to end this enormous weekend of party with the best way ever! You can’t really miss it: it’s on the first weekend of every October, don’t you fancy some Verdicchio wine?
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