November 1 at 19.00 in Borgo Case Troiano di Spoltore (motorization area –PE)

A long journey that, among stories, traditions and symbols, will accompany the public on a visit to the 'Table of the Dead', or rather the rediscovery of the ancient Abruzzese tradition of leaving the house table set for the night between November 1st and November 2nd with the the best peasant dishes, from strictly handmade egg pasta to baked chicken with potatoes, to wine and dessert, to welcome and make the passage of the souls of one's dead more serene than they are said to return to find loved ones and loved ones.

It is the event organized for the evening of Friday, November 1, by the Fontevecchia Association in Spoltore and which will take place at the Borgo di Case Troiano. Let's just say that our event is totally different from the Halloween celebrations that, moreover, do not belong to our history, nor to our culture, but, on the contrary, have gone to supplant our tradition that instead wanted to dedicate the night between 1 and 2, that is, between All Saints and the celebration of the dead, precisely at the commemoration and prayer for the souls of our loved ones who are no longer our other side.

With "La Tavola dei Morti" we want to tell young people and bring to light an important tradition for our history, precisely the duty to honor in the most just, respectful and appropriate way those people who have been part of our life and who in that night, according to tradition, they return to their homes for a brief moment. The event, always organized in collaboration with the Beato Marco d’Aviano association, I Sedili di Napoli, Confraternita del SS. Crucifix called La Sciabica, Identità Insorgenti, Municipality of Spoltore and Municipality of Naples, will start at 19.00 o'clock in front of the headquarters of the civil motorization (Pescara), where it will begin the path of tradition and will be told what happens on that night .

The event will begin with the historical guide of Enzo Di Paoli, historicist and storytelling of the places immediately after the release of candles. We will tell the story of the warriors' well, located below what is now a roundabout embankment and where historically the soldiers of the Spanish garrison were watered during the viceroyalty of Naples and brigands.

Then with the light of the candles you will walk towards the Borgo Case Troiano, following a path delimited by the lights, and with some pauses, each of which will be characterized by a story about events and characters that have characterized the Borgo itself. Along the narrow street of the village we will tell the story of the 'bones a la vutate de lo lope', that is the discovery of human bones following the planting of vines and olive groves, bones that still today make us suspect the presence on site of a cemetery area even from Roman times. In the olive grove we will visit the discovery of an ancient burial taking care not to run into the dispetti de Lu Mazzamurille, a sprite with a red cap on his head who enjoys annoying the living with jokes of all sorts. Then we will visit a house paying attention to the "Procession of the dead friars" who, silently and with lighted candles, will follow those present escorted by the souls of the knights. Outside each house there will be symbols, such as a wheat bag or an upside-down broom and, each time, we will explain the reasons for those presences that sink into the Abruzzo tradition.

Also the tables will be prepared according to local custom, with ham and cheese, maccaroni with sauce, chicken and potatoes, water, wine, bread, coffee, biscuits, sweets and fruit. But the peculiarity is that that food cannot be consumed anyway, because the "table set" must welcome the souls who will spend the night from that kitchen and who will be able to find, as tradition transmits, the dishes so loved in life. And in fact, in ancient times the refrigerium took place which was then banned by Christianity and, in more recent times, families the next day destined food for the poor.

During the evening it will be possible to pay tribute to the Church of the Holy Trinity, located in Case Troiano, which will be regularly open, and the residents of the village will tell stories about the people who historically inhabited the place, such as' La tavule di Nonne Filumene ',' Zì Pippine "'and' La finestre de Zà Retine '. Particular will be the preparation of the altar of the Pezzentelle Souls, the souls of purgatory in search of grace with the possibility of listening to the story of a devotion all Abruzzese and southern.

At the end of the event, all participants will be offered for free the 'penitential food', which is also strictly respectful of tradition, or 'the grain of the dead', ie boiled wheat with walnuts, pomegranate and cooked must, boiled broad beans, chickpeas toast, pumpkin and potatoes with red wine.

So those present will have the opportunity to rediscover a widespread tradition throughout the south until the 1950s, which unfortunately has been lost ”. Then, before midnight, everyone at home with three deliveries to the front door to prevent panthems and mazzamurilles from letting us spend a quiet night.

Info: 331/6796820