Italy’s Battle of the Oranges

The Italian Orange Festival everyone is talking about is called the Battaglia delle Arance. This festival brings people from all over the world to join together, and yes, you guessed it, throw oranges at each other! In fact, the festival brings in over 60,000 crates of oranges. Just to put things into perspective, that’s about 400 tons of oranges!

Story has it, the festival originated in the 12th century when a miller’s daughter revolted against the count. Women stood outside their balconies throwing stones and eventually oranges at the counts troops. And since, it has turned into quite the spectacular event. The festival takes place in the very small town of Ivera located in the Northwestern territory of Italy. The towns square transforms into the orange battlefield. The legendary celebration spans across three days, however participants typically only partake in one day of orange chucking. Large bruises and soreness always occur. In fact, at least 150 people are injured every year. Last year, 13 people were hospitalized.

Orange throwing participants dress up in medieval attire. People who want to attend the festival purely as a spectator wears a large red hat to signify their neutrality. The festival concludes on Fat Tuesday. Awards go to the best teams! Following the festival, burning of the scarlo (the burning of a pole covered with heather and juniper bushes) is a tradition everyone covets. Cleaning up this massive festival requires over a hundred workers, and a couple days. For more info on the Battaglia delle Arance, visit www.carnevaldiivrea.it