The Festa della Pina is one of the oldest traditional festivals of Mount Amiata and symbolizes spring and blossoming love.
Some believe that the Festa della Pina derives from the bacchanalia, the celebrations with which the Romans honored the god Bacchus, whose symbol was the thyrsus, a stick with a frond at the top. Over time the thyrsus has turned into a stick on which a golden or silver pina is stuck and tradition has it that the stick with the pina is given as a gift from the man to the beloved woman, to declare her love; if the chosen one reciprocates the gift, offering to the man a sugary, typical dessert of Montelaterone, it is the sign that the love is reciprocated and that the two are exchanging a promise of love, in the shadow of the Pieve di Lamula, a ancient sanctuary that dates back to 853 AD and is located at the foot of Montelaterone, a small medieval village in the municipality of Arcidosso.
The Festa della Pina falls on the first Sunday after Easter, on Sunday in Albis, which also coincides with the first day of the year when I resume the summer celebrations of the Sunday Mass in the Marian shrine.
Even if today young people no longer use the Pina to declare their love, the Festa della Pina is still a very participated party, precisely because it coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the rebirth. In addition, the secular chestnut wood in which the parish church of Lamula is immersed invites you to spend an afternoon in the open air, perhaps enjoying some typical local dishes, listening to music and stornelli.
Within the event there are also cultural moments linked to the place and its traditions and it is also possible to participate in guided tours to discover the place and the sanctuary.
Obviously at the party you can also buy the Pina!
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