Nothing more than wine is representative of Asti and its province in the world. In order to honour this universal ambassador in homeland, for 29 years it has been (and it is still) celebrated the Festival of Festivals, “le Sagre”, every second Sunday of September and the Douja d’Or, a national oenological competition. Le Sagre is a great festival which has been described as “the most genuine representation of country life”.
About 40 pro-locos (local tourist offices) of Asti’s province propose their food specialties together with some DOC wines of Asti in the open-air restaurant with its characteristic tavern glasses, ceramic and paper plates, wooden cutlery: a symbol of the past and the future at the same time. The whole is enhanced by coloured marquees and tablecloths which fill the square together with the pro-locos’ small houses: the overall effect is a touch of cheerfulness and joyfulness which make the Festival of the Sagre an unforgettable day.
Country pageant during the Festival of the Sagre.
The whole takes place after the picturesque pageant in the streets of the town with more than three thousand characters dressed in authentic period costumes, farm tractors, and farming tools which represent the values and traditions of this wonderful land.
The pageant is an obligatory appointment for those who wish to savour every year the taste of simple things in those times, and see people coming from countries who still keep alive in history local traditions typical of these hills.