Sagra del Quarantì

Corn saved from oblivion

In the heart of the Bassa Bresciana, the Municipality of Roccafranca (Province of Brescia, Lombardy) dedicates four days at the end of August to a product that tells the agricultural history of the area: 'quarantino' corn. The name derives from its most surprising characteristic, the ability to ripen in just forty days from sowing. The ears are small, the grains a warm orange-red colour, and the flour obtained from it gives life to a polenta rich in protein and with a decisive flavour, very different from industrial polenta.

Why the Festival was created

The event, sponsored by the Lombardy Region and the Province of Brescia, was created with a precise objective: to recover and enhance an almost disappeared indigenous variety. The Parco Oglio Nord, the Istituto Cerealicolo Bresciano, Coldiretti Brescia, Confartigianato, and Confagricoltura have rallied around the project, testifying to how much the Sagra has become a reference point for the peasant culture of the plain between Brescia and the Oglio river.

Three souls in one festival

The Sagra del Quarantì is divided into three complementary strands. There is the food and wine soul, with the stand offering local dishes built around 'quarantino' polenta: from 'manzo all'olio' (beef in oil) to polenta accompanied by the flavours of Brescian tradition. There is the cultural soul, made up of photographic exhibitions, historical reenactments, and gatherings of vintage bicycles, motorcycles, and tractors. And there is the entertainment soul, with concerts, dancing evenings, and music for all tastes that liven up the historic centre until late at night.

An end-of-summer event

For those visiting the Oltrepò bresciano and the plain, the Sagra is an opportunity to taste a rare product and immerse themselves in an authentically village atmosphere, where food is the pretext for gathering. The sixteenth edition confirms the formula that has made the event an anticipated appointment on the Lombard summer calendar.