The Festival of Vastedda in Torretta

La vastedda festival in Torretta it is a very heartfelt appointment with a large following. Vastedda is a baked product that can be considered a focaccia, even if it is seasoned with different ingredients.

It is a specialty that can be tasted in many areas of Sicily but it is certainly in Torretta, in the province of Palermo, which is made following the older tradition . During the feast of the Immaculate Conception the Vastedda festival is organized here: here is all the useful information that can be used to take part in it.

Description of the Festival of Vastedda

The Vastedda festival is an occasion that celebrates this ancient specialty in combination with the most heartfelt feast of the whole village, namely that of Maria Immacolata: the devotion of its population is so high that the village is also known by the name of Abbey of the Madonna . Precisely for this reason the festival is organized in a very detailed way, allowing all the faithful to be able to devote themselves to tasting this specialty as soon as the religious celebrations are over.

During the festival, in addition to tasting the vastedda seasoned in many ways, it will be possible to discover the secrets of its preparation but also to make other purchases at the stands of local crafts . There are also shows, music, games and activities for the little ones, in order to involve the whole family in this beautiful celebration of faith and folklore.

The story linked to the Vastedda festival

The history linked to the Vastedda festival is very old as until in past centuries there was the habit, precisely on the day dedicated to the Immaculate , that the engaged couple would bring a basket of vastedda to the house of the bride-to-be: they were cooked, seasoned with traditional ingredients (ancient oil, pepper, salt and a mix of ricotta and caciocavallo) and then placed inside an embroidered basket, as a gift for the young woman and her family.

The boys went to the ovens of the village, which already from the first light of dawn of the 8th December they were intent on churning out focaccia with the cry of "cavuri cavuri e va cuonza" which translated from Sicilian means literally "hot hot and go season them" . The municipal authorities therefore wanted to organize the Sagra della Vastedda to keep this ancient tradition alive but at the same time loved by the inhabitants of the village.

When the Vastedda festival takes place in Torretta

The Festival of Vastedda in Torretta is held every year on 8th December , in conjunction with the feast of the Immaculate Conception and lasts only one day.

Where the Festival of Vastedda takes place in Torretta

The Sagra della Vastedda takes place mainly in the very central area Via Roma , i.e. the road in front of the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace.

What to do during the event

The Sagra della Vastedda in Torretta is only the starting point of a series of events held in the Sicilian village and which aim to attract a large public to the town, which encompasses more than one beauty. Obviously the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie is the element of greatest attraction in Torretta: built in the XNUMXth century, it is famous because it houses a series of relics among which the papal bulls as well as a beautiful Cardinal ermine .

At Christmas, then, the living nativity scene that transforms the historic village into a small medieval center, involving houses and inhabitants in this reconstruction, is not to be missed. Finally, the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore also deserves a visit with interiors decorated with really very suggestive white and gilded stuccos and the Za Minica cave in Torretta, so called because for a long time inhabited by a woman dedicated to witchcraft.

How to get to Torretta

Those who come from Palermo and want to take part in the Vastedda festival can follow the E90 to their destination, while those traveling from Catania or Enna will have to take the A19. From Messina the most suitable road is the A20 and then continue on the E90, from Agrigento the SS189 followed by the SS121 and from Trapani first the A29 and then the E933. Finally from SIRACUSA the route to follow includes the A19 and then the E932. Those who prefer to travel by train can go to the Capaci station or to the Carini station and then continue with the local AST bus lines to reach the village.