The day of San Martino is celebrated every year throughout Italy and each region celebrates with customs and traditions handed down from generation to generation. It was a very important day in the peasant world of the past because it corresponded with the period in which the year's balance sheets were drawn up and agricultural contracts were renewed, hence the saying "fare San Martino", i.e. move. Today the party has taken on a sharing character, becoming an opportunity to get together by sharing a family lunch based on typical traditional dishes, organizing out-of-town trips with friends and promoting wine tourism in the cellar to taste the new wine.
Who is San Martino?
The celebration is linked to the figure of San Martino di Tours and in particular we remember an episode in which he is the protagonist: one night when Martino was on patrol during the harsh winter of 335, he met a half-naked beggar; the soldier decided to cut off his cloak to share it with the suffering man. The following night Jesus appeared to him in a dream, dressed in the half given to the beggar and when he woke up the cloak was intact again. This episode changed his life and made him convert to Christianity. November 11th is the date on which the Saint is celebrated and it is the day that coincides with his burial.
An autumn with a summer flavour
At the beginning of November, after a cold and cloudy period typical of the end of October, the climate returns to being mild and sunny. This phenomenon is called the summer of San Martino since it coincides with the period of the festival. It's the right time to go for walks in nature, to admire the foliage and take beautiful panoramic photos helped by the sunlight.
Food and wine pairing: wine and chestnuts, and more
The feast of San Martino is linked to the tapping of the first wine, as a famous proverb that reads "San Martino, every must becomes wine" makes us understand. Tradition has it that the first taste of the new wine takes place in these days. We therefore meet in the company of relatives or friends to drink a glass of new wine together, sitting around a fire on which chestnuts are cooked.
Another gastronomic tradition on the occasion of San Martino is to consume dishes based on pork or goose. Among the typical dishes of the tradition we find the torcinelli which consist of lamb entrails twisted by intestines and cooked on the grill.
Desserts are also the protagonists of the festival: in the Veneto they eat the Venetian galeti, while in Abruzzo the "pizza con i quattrini", made with cornmeal, walnuts, dried figs and honey, in which a coin is hidden for the older children lucky. In Sicily the "viscottu" of S. Martino ai guasteddi are prepared, while in Sardinia you can taste the papassinos.
Where to celebrate San Martino
Every year on the occasion of the feast of San Martino numerous festivals and popular celebrations are organized from north to south Italy. One of the most famous takes place in Puglia and is the patronal feast of Martina Franca. Furthermore, Movimento Turismo del Vino punctually organizes the Cantine Aperte appointment in San Martino, a weekend in which the wineries participating in the initiative open their doors to wine tourists by organizing tastings and visits to the company.
