Giuliana Roots Festival as part of the Borghi dei Tesori Festival

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During the days of the Roots Festival there will be a tasting of typical products of Giuliana, such as tabisca, all accompanied by flag-wavers, falconers, historical/medieval groups, music and folk groups.
In addition, guided tours will be offered to the majestic Castle of Frederick II and to the places of greatest interest of Giuliana, places that our fellow citizens who emigrated abroad have left ruined or unusable and that today are the flagship of our community, just think of the Castle of Frederick II restored in the 2000s that in the days of the Roots Festival we will revive with theatrical visits and medieval re-enactments.
In the three years of participation in the festival, one of the most popular experiences was the tasting of lasagna “ncapu u scanaturi”, which the local associations will propose for travelers of the roots, or homemade lasagna seasoned with fresh tomato sauce, salted ricotta and basil and tasted, according to an ancient tradition, on a wooden surface called “scanaturi” shared with all diners.
This custom will be a real attraction for travelers of the roots because in each family there was a “scanaturi” and the housewives of the past made homemade lasagna daily, the gardens produced fresh tomatoes and basil with an intoxicating scent.
This year, on the occasion of the Festival of the Villages of Treasures, we want to re-propose the tasting of the tabisca, so that the Italian-descendants return inebriated by the scent of the oven and the flavors of this poor food but at the same time genuine and rich in history.
The tabisca was born “in ancient times” when, especially in large families, bread was made at home.
Before baking it, however, to test if the oven was at the right temperature, it was customary to bake a piece of dough previously rolled out with your hands and pierced with your fingertips.
Obviously, nothing was thrown away and that piece of pasta cooked in the oven, called TABISCA, was eaten as it is or, for those who could afford it, seasoned with oil, salt, anchovy and aged cheese.
It was the period of the great emigration in which all the people of Giulia, who lived in large families, rather than suffering from hunger, emigrated to America, Germany or Spain to find fortune and in their so-called “cardboard suitcase” there was no lack of a tabisca to eat during the long journey.
There will also be a workshop aimed at recovering and enhancing the tradition linked to St. Joseph’s bread delicately carved by hand by master bakers to make votive bread (St. Joseph’s stick and beard, Mary’s heart, etc.) which is used to adorn the altars of St. Joseph to which all Giulianese are linked as in the past an altar was made in every house and it was customary make a tour of all the altars in the village and a painting and ceramics workshop.