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Feast of the Cat
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When:
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Apr 2008 (annual)
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Where:
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Cerreto Laziale
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Visitors to this local festival will not only get to see a beautiful religious procession, a medieval tournament and the fireworks; there's also plenty of chance to stuff yourself with local delicacies!
The fair celebrates a local saint, St Agatha, who saved the town from the ferocious brigand leader Marco Sciarra and his army of highwaymen and mercenaries. The locally famous mercenary king, who named himself "God's Scourge, and Emissary of God against Usurers and Hoarders of Unproductive Wealth", led a ragtag army of soldiers in raids against the Lazio region, occupying several towns at in the early 1590s. In 1592 the town of Cerreto Laziale was next on the menu, but through the intercession of a local saint and her cat, the attack was seemingly averted. Much as we'd love to tell you how the saint (or the cat) did this, we haven't been able to find out. If you do discover this, please do send us a postcard.
The celebration involves traditional liturgical rites, a solemn procession in honour of the saint (and the assisting feline), and a Palio of the Cat where the four districts of the town (not too many people, given that the town has just over 1,000 inhabitants) compete for prizes. The celebrations finish in the evening, with a spectacular firework display, and throughout the day you can taste some of the gorgeous gastronomic morsels of the Lazio region.
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