The Fiera di San Felice has ancient origins tied to agriculture and cattle trade shows dating to a century ago. This fall fair traditionally takes place on the third Sunday of October in the town of Santo Stefano di Magra, near Liguria’s Gulf of Poets.
Santo Stefano di Magra is a municipality in the Province of La Spezia, located in the Montemarcello-Magra Natural Regional Park. It includes the small hamlets of Ponzano Magra, Ponzano Belaso, and Ponzano Superiore. Among its historic attractions are powerful Late-Renaissance walls, and the 18th-century church dedicated to St. Stephen.
The Fiera di San Felice is a feast for all your senses. About 350 colorful stands, aromas and flavors of local food, traditional crafts for you to touch, stories and shows performed by street artists – are just some of the attractions that await you at this fall fair.
The yearly display of stands may vary a bit. However, here is a general layout of the trade show for 2016, when the fair takes place on Sunday 16th October:
- Along the street of Via Mazzini, you can indulge between the stands of street food and local cuisine, and you can also admire the exhibit of paintings by Luciano Viani and Associazione La Fenice
- In the square of Piazza Garibaldi, you find the market and exhibition of typical and artisanal products from the Gulf of Poets
- Via Togliatti hosts the bovine and equine trade show, including a small display of historic horse carriages. At 11:30, awards will be handed to the cattle that participate in the trade show contest.
- At Piazza della Pace, there are acrobatic shows by Marco Neri at 2:30pm and at 3:30pm; while the White Cross of Santo Stefano di Magra will simulate an accident and show the correct way to handle the situation (deal with trauma, cardiac massage…) at 11:30am and 2:00pm.
- A photography exhibition by Graziano Bianchi, entitled “The Unknown Hamlet” is hosted at Centro Sociale Ruffini, in the neighbourhood of Valle.
- All day long, you will find art games and didactic corners for children.
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If you are looking for a place to stay in the Gulf of Poets, consider the boutique Grand Hotel Portovenere, strategically located between the Cinque Terre and La Spezia.
