The witches return to Carpeneto for a truly Magic Night

MAGIC NIGHT Carpeneto (Alessandria) Friday August 6, 2010

That Carpeneto, a small and charming hilltop village, immersed in the vineyards of the Alto Monferrato, besides its very famous wine-growing tradition also has a "magic" vocation, has been well known since the dawn of time. The well-known folklorist of the second half of the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Ferraro, collected in several volumes the customs, songs, legends and even the peculiarities of the Monferrato speech. His work is comparable to that accomplished by Giuseppe Pitrè in Sicily, of whom Ferraro was also a friend. The stories he collected are also populated by a considerable string of witches, magic plants and animals, demonstrating the existence of a popular tradition of magic charm, a characteristic that is underlined by the event Magic Night, which takes place in Carpeneto every year on the first Friday of August.

Shadows wandering in the dark at the foot of the Castle, mysterious voices heard in the night among the ancient alleys, the vine leaves that on torrid summer days move despite the absence of wind, as if there were elves behind them, a woman's face that appears under an old tree and then suddenly disappears. Popular fantasies, fairy-tale ones, that are part of the tradition and that today are the occasion for a big summer festival under the banner of mystery, organized by the SOMS Carpenetese.

So here the witches return to gather in Carpeneto on Friday August 6, 2010, for a true and unmissable Magic Night!!!

The streets of Carpeneto will be populated by wizards, witches, gnomes and fairies, but there will also be stilt-walkers, acrobats and fire-eaters for the amusement of young and old, and for those who want to know their future, it will be enough to turn to astrologers and fortune-tellers. Among costumed performers, musicians and dancers who will perform medieval choreographies, the night will be a true plunge into the mysteries of history.

It will also be, finally, the "magic night of flavors": at the refreshment corners you can taste many of the best local products including farinata, focaccia di Recco, but also chickpeas and bruschettas, all washed down with the excellent locally produced wines.

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