Norcina Art Festival

The Norcina Art Festival in Agliana

Every year in January, the hamlet of San Michele in the municipality of Agliana (Pistoia province, Tuscany) comes alive with the Norcina Art Festival, one of the region's first major culinary events of the year. The festival celebrates the deep-rooted rural tradition of pork butchery, a craft that defined the winters of Tuscan farming families for centuries.

A tradition brought to life in the square

The heart of the festival is the live demonstration of the norcina art: from the early morning, the norcini (traditional pork butchers) section the pork, cook it, and serve it to the public, showcasing the entire process from raw preparation to final tasting. It is a journey into the memory of a time when almost every farming family raised a pig, slaughtered during the cold season because its meat was an essential part of the family diet.

The flavors of the festival

The food stalls feature the great classics of norcina cuisine:

• Schiacciata all'arista, the festival's signature dish;
• Freshly prepared sausages, cooked on the spot;
• Migliacci and other traditional peasant dishes;
• A rich variety of typical pork products, following the popular saying that "nothing goes to waste from the pig."

A community gathering

The event is organized by the Associazione Feste Rurali Parrocchia di San Michele with the support of the Agliana municipal administration, and is deeply rooted in local festivities. Over the years, the festival has found its permanent home in Piazza San Michele at the Vacchereccia premises, where large crowds have become the norm: in past editions, supplies often sold out by midday. Today, the festival represents an authentic meeting point for the Agliana community and the many visitors arriving from the Pistoia province and the rest of Tuscany.