Ivrea, Italy, and the Battle of the Oranges

If you’re interested in seeing Spain’s famous La Tomatina, Ivrea’s Battle of the Oranges is another food fight worth considering. It’s not as big as Buñol’s, but it is more authentic and hasn’t been flooded with the backpacking crowd yet.

© Francesco Zanon | Dreamstime

It’s also more historic. The exact origins are unknown, but the story centers on a tale about an Ivrea tyrant during the late Middle Ages. The nobleman attempted to exercise his right to primae noctis on the wedding night of Violetta, the miller’s daughter. In response, she decapitated the man’s head and townspeople stormed the nobleman’s palace, fighting against his henchman on horse-drawn carts.

Today, the town commemorates this act of rebellion with a mock battle, with trucks of royal jesters getting pelted by the commoners with oranges. The fight is whimsical in nature, but it’s taken much more seriously than La Tomatina. The fight is not open to the public, and thanks to the tradition of drinking mulled wine beforehand, combatants are putting some muscle behind their fruit. Injuries are rare, but people often leave with large bruises and black eyes.

© Zilli Roberto | Dreamstime

There are around 4,000 participants in the battle, comprising nine teams that include the royalists on carts and the opposing mercenri. The nearly 100,000 spectators wear red hats or wraps to show they’re not in the battle, though the unofficial rule is people can walk into the town square, take off their head covering and start throwing.

The fight takes place on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and on Tuesday awards are given out by judges and combatants to the team that best defended themselves. Sometimes the fight gets a little too violent, but overall the occasion is a joyous one, and the most important time of the year for the people of Ivrea, who enjoy expressing the festival’s theme of liberation.

© Francesco Zanon | Dreamstime