May festival

Original name: Festa del Maggio

Place: Braccagni (hamlet), in municipality of Grosseto, in Grosseto province, Maremma area.

First year of the festival: 1975

Period: every year, April, 30 - May, 1

Opening times: on April 30, from evening until late at night; on May, 1, from 14:30 till sunset

Local Specialities:

• one course meal, snacks: local fava beans and cheese (baccelli e formaggio); grilled sausages with Tuscan bread (salsiccia alla brace).

The "Maggio" feast was once upon a time one of the most important for Tuscan peasants. It was a celebration of the spring, always held on April 30 from evening till dawn. With the collapse of the peasants' society (during the Sixties of the last century), the Maggio feast disappeared quite everywhere in Tuscany, except in few villages and hamlets where locals were particularly attached to their glorious tradition. As here in Braccagni, where the feast is still living, which gives you the possibility to see an ancestral rite, old as the times.

So, on April 30, in and around Braccagni the Maggio chants will welcome the new spring; on May, 1, starting from the afternoon, traditional popular Tuscan music groups will meet in San Rocchino area. There will be a kiosk with a seasonal dish, very loved by Tuscans, the fava beans with cheese, and also grilled sausages with bread; all this "a offerta", just make a donation, which will go to the local association.

In case of rains, the feast will be held, but as it's open year, bring umbrellas.