How to discover Italy - Saint Orso WOOD CRAFT FAIR in Aosta on January 30th and 31st

typical sabot www.fieradisantorso.it

The origins of the Saint Orso Fair  belong to the Middle Ages when Saint Orso ,an Irish monk who lived in the valley, used to donate wooden shoes (called sabots) to the pilgrims of the Aosta Valley  to protect their feet from the snow and from the cold weather.

This Fair is now the most important one in the Valle D'Aosta Region, it hosts more than 1000  exhibitors that come and sell their beautiful wooden art crafts along all the streets of the Aosta city center. This beautiful Fair  also offers the opportunity to listen traditional musics and to taste the local food and the very famous local white wines .This year the  Fair takes place on January 30th and 31st ;to note that as per the tradition, songs and dances go on the entire night on January 30th until dawn , during the night free hot wine "vin chaud" is offered to the visitors.

www.tigulliomarcone.it

At the Fair you will also have the possibility to buy the tipical Valle D'Aosta friendship cups "coppa dell'amicizia", that people wrongly call "Grolla" ,in reality Grolla is a different type of cup.
The friendship cup is a typical wooden vessel with cover and several nozzles that is used to drink the Valle D'Aosta coffee with friends, the cup is passed by friends sitting around the table and each of them drinks a a bit of coffee from the nozzle and then passes it to the next one, the cup can only be placed on the table when its content has been entirely consumed.
The Valel D'Aosta coffee is a blend of coffee and local spirits, brandy, sugar, cinnamon,cloves and oranges.

www.naturaaosta.it