Unpublished stories related to the Putignano Carnival. Facts, testimonies or legends to know

After the carnival of Venice, the carnival of Putignano is one of the oldest in Europe, and has its roots in the Middle Ages. Over the years its success has been so remarkable that it was even established in 2006, a version summer. As the Harlequin reminds us of Venice and the Pulcinella reminds us of Naples, Putignano is also represented by his typical mask, the Farinella.

The name Farinella derives from a typical dish of the area, based on barley and chickpeas. Farinella is a jester with a rather similar appearance to that of Harlequin; her dress is multicolored and she wears a two-pointed hat with rattles. It is believed that in ancient times Farinella's dress was red and blue, the colors of the city, and that the hat was three-pointed, which symbolized the three hills of Putignano. The Putignano carnival has its roots in the Middle Ages.

It is believed that it was born in 1394, the year in which the Knights of Malta, who at the time controlled the territory, decided to move the relics of Saint Stephen the Martyr from the Castle of Monopoli to Putignano which, being in the hinterland, represented a more safe from Saracen raids. Tradition has it that when the knights arrived with the saint's relics, the peasants left the fields where they were busy working and, with their faces smeared with flour, danced and recited satires and jokes in dialect. Thus was born the carnival of Putignano. Many centuries later, with the advent of fascism, the Putignano carnival took on the appearance it has today, seeing the introduction of parades of allegorical floats (the parade is a typical element of fascist culture). The Putignano carnival is very long: it begins with the candle exchange ceremony on December 26th. The ceremony requires that people bring a candle to the church to ask for forgiveness in advance for the sins they will commit during the carnival. The feast of the Propaggini follows on the evening of the same day. It is a satirical recitation of rhyming verses in the local dialect about the salient events of the year and the gossip about the local powers. The play has its roots far back in time: this is why it is still performed today by actors who wear peasant clothes and carry work tools in their hands. From 17 January, the day of Sant'Antonio Abate, a series of Thursdays will start in which different social classes are made fun of: monsignors, priests, nuns, widowers, bachelors, married women and finally the cuckolds. The bear festival takes place on February 2, the Candlemas festival. Tradition has it that, if the weather is good, the bear builds a haystack to take refuge from future bad weather; if the weather is bad, however, the bear can relax as good weather will be expected in the future. It is a very particular, inverted logic that is dramatized in an absolutely interesting way every year by a theatrical association of Putignano. As in many other carnivals, the festival ends on Shrove Tuesday: that day a traditional parade takes place during which the funeral of the carnival is celebrated, which is represented with a papier-mâché pig.