WTI Magazine #59    2015 May, 1
Author : folclore.it      Translation by:

The Cantamaggio in Terni, the largest folk event town, enhances and promotes the ancient custom to celebrate the arrival of spring with the singers who went to the country houses to devote ditties about spring in exchange for coins or eggs, wine and food from the garden.

With such foresight already a century ago the city of Terni in Umbria decided to take up this beautiful and ancient tradition, codify it and enhance it through the Ente Cantamaggio, that still organizes and promotes the event.

The feast offers a full calendar of events: among them, a highlight is the parade of the spring floats through the streets of the city on the evening of April 30 and in the afternoon of May 1, where the best float is then awarded. There is also a mini parade with floats made by children from nursery and primary schools of the city, along a shorter route.

During the two days of celebration the agenda provides theater and cultural events in the streets, food and wine market of local products, handcrafts workshops, art exhibitions, dialect poems competitions, music and of course the songs of the "maggianti".

The groups of singers attend and participate in the city theater to the Festival of the "maggiaiola" (May) song in the Terni dialect. A succession of exciting happenings that bring from the countryside to the city the notes and scents of nature and a spring blooming.