The Transhumance festival is back for a second edition on 16 and 17 October. After a first edition crowned with success which will have brought out a certain enthusiasm for the theme, and a desire of the inhabitants to renew the link with their neighbours and their history, the second edition looks promising.
The 2021 edition marks the arrival of a new partner commune: the commune of Coti-Chiavari, which will offer a market and demonstrations of know-how on the afternoon of Saturday 16 October. Unfortunately this year, the decision to hold the event despite the still uncertain sanitary restrictions was made late, which is why the communes of Quasquara and Campo will not be offering any activities. However, they remain committed partners who are already working on their 2022 programme.
For the record, the idea of the Fête de la Transhumance was born of a simple and unhappy observation: the villages are becoming desertified and the inhabitants who continue to live there have little or no contact with the inhabitants of neighbouring villages. At the time, this link was maintained, particularly between the various shepherds and their families and friends during the transhumance. In May, when the time came to move the animals to greener pastures, the shepherds from the “lower” villages would pass through the “upper” villages and thus maintain the link with the inhabitants. And vice versa in October when they went down to the plains. Today, this time is over in communes like Pietrosella due to a lack of breeders.
The municipality of Pietrosella has always wanted to encourage “living together” and has always been keen to create a real community between its inhabitants, and today also with the surrounding villages. With this in mind, the idea was born to revive the memory of the transhumance times, in order to renew the link with the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages around a great cultural, historical, playful and convivial festival.
Thus, the communes of Coti-Chiavari, Quasquara, Campo and Pietrosella now join together every year to propose a return to the times of transhumance.
THE PROGRAMME
Saturday 16th October in Coti-Chiavari
Demonstration of know-how and sale of authentic products on the village square from 2pm to 6pm.
Cutlery and forging: Jean-Pierre Rachelli and Jean Rubini
Basketry: Henry Lantuit
Canes and walking sticks in ferule: Jean-Yves Poneau
Sunday 17 October in Pietrosella
2.00 pm to 7.00 pm – Producers’ and craftsmen’s market (basketry, cutlery, walking sticks in ferule, Isula Muntagna magazine, authentic gourmet products).
– Animations: demonstration of blacksmithing with Alexandre Musso, basketry with Noëlle Figarella, exhibition of old tools from Marius and photos from the collection of Terry and Guerin Campana and the Museum of Corsica, mini-farm with Equi-Libriu)
4.00 pm – 5.00 pm – Broadcasting of the documentary “for the return of shepherds to the mountains” by the Corsican Mountain Committee of the Collectivity of Corsica. Followed by an exchange with the directors and/or members of the committee (Philippe Pierangeli and Francescu Maria Luneschi). Testimonies of inhabitants, memories of Pietrosella.
6.00 pm to 7.00 pm – Concert by the Corsican polyphonic ensemble “Tempus Fugit”, specialists in old forgotten sacred songs.
7.00 p.m. – A convivial moment around a Corsican soup offered by the municipality.
