The Sagra delle Regne (bundles of corn ears), the festival held in Minturno in mid-July, dates back to pre-Roman times, when the first fruits were offered to the divinities of the earth and agriculture as thanks for the good harvest.
The Sagra delle Regne
Before the advent of Christianity, in Minturno the Festival was celebrated in honour of Silva Maricae, nymph of the woods of Minturnae. Later, it has been dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie. At the end of the twelfth century, some Franciscan friars placed an image of the Madonna delle Grazie on a chariot full of wheat, which they distributed to the starving people. After an interruption during the Second World War, since 1954, the celebration has been taking place every year.
Sagra delle Regne in Minturno – Facebook @SagradelleRegne
The Sagra delle Regne honours the local peasant traditions and folklore with evocative historical reenactments and processions of religious floats, carrying wheat sheaves to be offered to God and the Madonna delle Grazie, as thanks for the good harvest and as a propitiatory ritual for the coming year. The wheat is then threshed with a flail, (vigliatura tello ranu in local dialect), by the harvesters, gli mitituri.
The religious celebrations are accompanied by several memorial, historical and cultural events, such as the historical reenactment of the Ottoman corsair Dragut’s landing on the nearby shores on July 21, 1552, one of the darkest pages in the history of the area. The entire population will flow into the plain to celebrate the liberation of the town from the marauder, enjoying traditional dishes and typical products from the Pontine region at the many food stands.