Experience Christmas at Cerrate Abbey/ Ritual foods from Immaculate Conception to Epiphany

For Christmas, the properties of the Fund for the Italian Environment (Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano) dress up for the holidays and offer visitors, immersed in their incomparable beauty, moments of pure magic. Visiting FAI properties during the festive season is a gift for oneself and loved ones, but also an important gesture in support of Italy, for the protection and enhancement of its extraordinary heritage of art and nature. In two 'replicas' (at 10.30 a.m. and 12 noon) we welcome in 2023 with 'Ritual foods from the Immaculate Conception to Epiphany'. This is a real journey into the food of the Salento Christmas tradition, between the sacred and the profane. In the workshop spaces of the abbey, the history of food, linked to local rituals and folklore, will be discovered. The seed and fire, recurring elements and symbols of the Winter Solstice period, are the thread running through the narration, curated by anthropologist Francesca Casaluci of the Salento Km0 association. After the 'theory' there will be a tasting of the typical dishes presented. For the entire Christmas period, the Abbey displays a papier-mâché nativity scene from the Church of San Francesco da Paola in Lecce. Dating back to the end of the 19th century, the artefact encapsulates all the traditional craftsmanship of the Salento.

Admission: €10 to €13 (family 36).

Free admission for new FAI members or renewals on site.

Info and reservations: 0832/361176, www.abbaziadicerrate.it