U vinu bonu - Saint Martin's Festival

U vinu bonu, the Saint Martin's festival in Gela

U vinu bonu is the festival through which Gela, in the heart of the Caltanissetta province, celebrates Saint Martin and the ancient ritual of new wine. It is traditionally held around November 11th, the day when the first wine of the year is opened across Sicily: as the proverb goes, "Pi San Martinu ogni mustu diventa vinu" (By Saint Martin, every must becomes wine). It is the moment when the grape must transforms and we toast to the new vintage, often accompanied by that mild spell of sunshine in early November that Sicilians call "Saint Martin's summer".

A festival to rediscover ancient Gela

The event was created with the intent to rediscover and re-evaluate the cultural heritage and old traditions of the city. In the historic center, the old trades of the Gela tradition are re-enacted, offering a journey into the peasant and artisan memory of the territory:

• the harvesting of cotton and licorice, crops that have marked the history of the Gela plain;
• the production of brooms using dwarf palm, the ancient "scupazzu";
• the processing of dairy products and traditional pasta making;
• sponge fishing and local fishing.

Everything is accompanied by ancient songs, theatrical performances, poetry, and serenades of the Gela tradition, which restore the atmosphere of yesteryear to the alleys of the center.

Wine, sausage, and hospitality

The delicious heart of the festival is the free tasting of local wine and sausage, distributed throughout the day: a pairing that recalls the other popular saying linked to this period, "s'ammazza lu porcu e si sazza lu vinu" (the pig is slaughtered and the wine is tasted). The morning is dedicated to welcoming groups and motorhome travelers arriving from all over Sicily: in groups of about fifty people, they are accompanied on free guided tours to the artistic and archaeological beauties of ancient Gela, a city of Greek foundation overlooking the Strait of Sicily.

A tradition of the Nisseno territory

Included in the calendar of Saint Martin's festivals in Sicily, "U vinu bonu" is one of the occasions through which the Municipality of Gela and its community tell the story of the territory's identity, between food and wine, folklore, and popular memory. For those visiting the province of Caltanissetta in autumn, it is an opportunity to discover a Gela different from the summer one, made of genuine flavors, recovered traditions, and warm Sicilian hospitality.