Sagra della Varola-Melfi, Italy

October 20th was the Sagra della Varola (Festival of Chestnuts) in Melfi, a town about 1.5 hours from Matera. Irsina, Matera and Melfi all sit in the same region of Basilicata.  Basilicata is well-known for their chestnut trees. Chesnut in Italian is "castagna," however, the particular chestnuts from Melfi are called "varola" which is also the name of the pan in which they're roasted.

Rosting the chestnuts

The festival has been going on in Melfi since 1960. The entire city is taken over with stands of locally produced products, many made with chestnuts as well as vendors selling various trinkets. There are bands that play in different parts of the city. For 5euros, you can get a bag of roasted chestnuts and a glass of wine; very economical!

There were people...everywhere

We wanted to visit the castle, but it was just closing as we arrived. It is one of the most significant castles in southern Italy and dates back to the 11th century. We did get to try on the hats of the people who work at the castle as you can see in this picture:

Gianluca, me and Alberto (a cousin)