The Focaraccio

Already at the end of the month of September the boys from the various locations of Rocca Santa Maria went around cutting Ginepri and Ginestre to bring the branches back to their country and pile them in the squares. The work continued even under the snow and a great heap was formed in the evening of December 9, the night of the passage of the Madonna.
As in the grip of a continuous electric shock, the boys ran from all parts of the country and impatiently they waited for the old man of the village to set fire to the great heap.
As soon as the flames started the classic crackle of brooms and junipers seemed to brighten the scene like a tiny fireworks display.
Immediately everyone turned their gaze to the neighboring villages to estimate the size of the fire from the width of the light.
A simple celebration of great social union that is still renewed today in the villages of Rocca Santa Maria.