The town of Carpegna, in Pesaro and Urbino, in the region of the Marche, celebrates its “Sega la Vecchia” Italian sagra in the form of the town sports festival every year.
The four parishes of the town get together for a traditional meet, challenging each other in games, followed by a huge country banquet.
The whole festival takes place on March 27 and involves sack races, hoop races, tug-of-war for both men and women, wood sawing, sled racing, and other old fashioned games.
At the end of the of this Italian festival, the team who wins parades through the town with the “vecchia”, meaning old lady – a folkloric statue figure who returns every year for the games – before burning the figurine in the piazza outside the town’s “palazzo”.
Afterwards, the mess hall and benches are made available for the post-victory dinner.
For more information, see the Carpegna site.
