Naturalmente a Tangi

A festival that brings rural Sicily to life

In the heart of western Sicily, between Erice and Valderice, lies a small rural village that for a few days each summer returns to the center of a world that seemed lost. "Naturalmente a Tangi" is the wheat festival of the Tangi hamlet, in the municipality of Buseto Palizzolo (Trapani province), which for nearly thirty years has preserved and showcased the farming traditions of the Erice countryside. This is no ordinary village fair: it is a genuine historical re-enactment, crafted with care and the collective participation of the entire community.

The harvest re-enactment

The heart of the event is the re-enactment of the traditional wheat harvesting and threshing process. The residents of Tangi, dressed as farmers of the past, demonstrate every step of the field work to the public: preparing the threshing floor, transporting the sheaves, threshing the grain, separating the straw using the wind, and the final winnowing. It is a journey into Sicily's agricultural past, accompanied by folk songs, antique tools, and gestures handed down from generation to generation.

Music, comedy, and traditional flavors

Alongside the re-enactment, the evenings come alive with musical performances, cabaret, dancing, and moments of conviviality. There is no shortage of food stalls offering tastings of ancient peasant dishes: bread and wine shared just like on the old threshing floors, sausage sandwiches, and typical products from the Trapani area. Between one evening and the next, there are also popular tournaments, such as the characteristic "Ciappeddi" tournament on clay, which involve both adults and children.

The village of Tangi and the Erice landscape

Tangi is one of the rural hamlets of Buseto Palizzolo, overlooking a landscape that stretches from Erice to Trapani, all the way to the salt pans and the Egadi Islands. The festival was created specifically to celebrate this farming culture and the scenic beauty of the Erice countryside, in an area of Sicily that still maintains a strong bond with the land and its ancient rhythms.

Who organizes the festival

"Naturalmente a Tangi" is organized by the Associazione Cultura e Tradizione Tangi together with the residents of the hamlet, with the collaboration of the Pro Loco, the Municipality of Buseto Palizzolo, the Municipality of Erice, and the Trapani provincial territory. It is a free-entry event, built entirely on volunteer work and the pride of a community that continues to share its roots.