|
|
|
|
|
The Fieschi's cake
Lavagna, a long-established town linked to the Fieschi family which endowed it with with fame and wealth, until it was taken over by the neighboring Chiavari in the 14th century. It has a modern tourist port, one of the largest in the mediterranean, as well as important medieval buildings in its historic centre, and the splendid College of St Stephen dating from 1653. As a reminder of its illustrious past, since 1951 Lavagna has celebrated the 'Torta dei Fieschi' on the 14th August. This is a feast in Medieval dress, with a grand court, an equestian tournament and the distribution of a huge cake, as occurred in 1230, on the occasion of the wedding between the Count Opizzo Fieschi and the Sienese Countess Bianca dei Bianci.
|
This century has witnessed some of the grandest weddings of all time, yet in Genoa they are still celebrating a wedding that took place over seven centuries ago! That's because when Count Fieschi of Lavagna in Genoa was married in 1240, he invited the entire town to share his wedding cake -- a wedding cake that was more than thirty feet high.
The townspeople of Lavagna have not forgotten the count's generosity, and each year they celebrate with parade to the town square. Parade participants each pin a piece of paper to their clothes (blue for men, pink for women) on which a word is written. The challenge then is to find a person of the opposite sex who has the same word written on their piece of paper. The reward? Why, a slice of "Fieschi's cake" of course!
|
|
|
|
|
|
