Cisternino, Puglia, Italy. Saturday/Monday 06/08-September-2025.
In addition to the usual Monday market, once a year we get a bonus market called Bomminella held on the 8th of September. An ancient market originally specialising in agricultural equipment and dating back to the 13th century. It was originally held just outside Porta Piccolo, where Via la Fiera now runs literally under our apartment.
The local tourist board Pro Loco di Cisternino, put on a full timetable leading up to, and including, Bomminella.
Saturday 06-September.
On the Saturday we went to hear some interesting talks about various aspects of the event including an exhibition of tambourines - a simple peasant instrument often played when dancing the Pizzica. The photographer caught my bald patch nicely.
After the talks we walked round to a photography exhibition in the Torre Grande. Thanks to Mary's distinctive white hair several friends spotted us on the Pro Loco social media.
Turning the black sheep idiom on its head - Be Different!
Sunday 07-September.
Sunday was a market day featuring the normal Monday stalls (clothing, homewares, etc.) but without the fruit and veg. We missed some of the events as they clashed with mealtimes but we could hear and see the music and dancing from our terrace.
Monday 08-September.
On a normal market day, we have clothing stalls outside our front door but for Bomminella their place is taken by a cheese and salami stall.
Down in the old marketplace, where the veg market used to be before Covid moved it down to Piazza dei Navigatori, we get wooden artefacts. Those boards in the picture are special pasta making boards that have a lip which fits over the worktop edge so that, when you are working the dough, the board doesn't slide away from you.
Lots of locally made wicker baskets.
Across from the old veg market is a street and carpark that is normally empty but for this occasion is full of hardware stalls.
Not so much agricultural but more barbecue equipment.
More hardware including, in the foreground, the special prickly pear harvesting gadgets. Like a metal diabolo they are mounted on a pole to pick the fruits.
There was one guy selling real agricultural equipment! A wine press and a harrow.
Down in the vegetable market you can tell that it is melon and pumpkin season - fruit by the pallet-load.
Throughout the day there is music and dancing the Pizzica in the streets.
The Pro Loco Cisternino in Valle d'Itria promoted a t-shirt “Il Cammino Della Pecora” (The Way of the Sheep) with a selection of bars and restaurants on the back with tick boxes to record your pub crawl. The motto “One day, one flock, one walk”.
The atmosphere is wonderful, with a constant buzz of happy voices and everyone is very friendly. Several people were impressed by us taking part in the pub crawl as we were clearly not native to the town. In truth some of our stops were for coffee or soft drinks so not as bad as it looks!
That evening we dined at Osteria Piatti Chiari which, like many restaurants in town, were offering a traditional Bomminella menu including tripe and a sheep stew made with the scraggiest bits of the animal. Fortunately other options were available.
A historic event and great fun.
Previous Bomminella: [2024], [2022].
