48th ARTISAN BACCHUS

The Rufina wine festival returns from September 28th to October 1st

Four days of events and initiatives in Rufina to celebrate wine and typical local products. This is the “Bacco Artigiano“, an event now in its forty-eighth edition, which will take place from 28 September to 1 October with the unaltered charm of tradition.

The 2023 edition of Bacco will be officially inaugurated at Villa Poggio Reale on Thursday 28 September at 5.30 pm, kicking off a program full of events, which sees the famous wine of the Chianti Rufina Consortium as its protagonist.

“The Bacco Artigiano, among all our traditions, still represents the most important celebration of the Municipality of Rufina and the entire Val di Sieve – comments the mayor of Rufina Vito Maida. This year too we have a program full of events, thanks to the involvement of local associations and all the producers of the Chianti Rufina Consortium. Bacchus takes place in four places: Villa Poggio Reale, Piazza Umberto I°, Piazza Primo Maggio and Piazza del Municipio, where there will be art, culture, crafts, shows, traditions, gastronomy and above all wine, the Rufina product par excellence. One of the novelties of this year it is actually a welcome return, that of the restaurant in Piazza Umberto, managed by the Audax Remo Mati company. The President of the Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani, will inaugurate this edition on Thursday at 5.30 pm at Villa Poggio Reale”.

Every day of the event has a rich calendar of events, located between Villa Poggio Reale and the squares: art and crafts, culture, lots of music and concerts, shows and activities for children, markets and food and wine stands, dance shows, exhibitions of vintage cars and much more.

On Saturday 30 September in Florence the re-enactment of the “Offering of the wine from the countryside to the Signoria of Florence” will take place, the ritual in use at the time of the Florentine Republic to celebrate the arrival of wine from the countryside in the city of Florence. For the occasion, the Carro Matto will parade, the long cart loaded with hundreds of flasks of wine, arranged in a pyramid, pulled by the typical Chianina breed “oxen”. The appointment is at 3.30pm in Piazza Duomo, from where the Carro Matto, the procession of the Florentine Republic and the Historical Procession of Wine and the Contado of Rufina will move through the streets of the historic center. The re-enactment, directed by Filippo Giovannelli, sees first the blessing of the wine by the Religious Authorities, then the offering of the wine cruet to the Church of San Carlo dei Lombardi and finally the offering of the Benedict wine of the Carro Matto to the Lordship of Florence in Piazza Duomo.

In Florence – explains the president of Calcio Storico Fiorentino and special advisor for Popular Traditions Michele Pierguidi – we are used to calling the Bacco Artigiano the “Carro Matto”. Because everyone is amazed to see this magnificent cart, pulled by oxen, with many flasks of wine stuffed by artisans and volunteers from Rufina that crosses the historic center of the city and then goes to symbolically deliver the flasks to the city authorities. It is one of the most loved events of the Florentine Republic procession which will also be present at the Rufina. Collaborating with the administration of Rufina is always a pleasure and an honor for us.”

“Wine is one of the pillars of this event – states Gerardo Gondi, vice president of the Chianti Rufina Consortium – which has always been a symbol of tradition and quality. Chianti Rufina has been famous over the centuries, just think that it was included in the proclamation of Cosimo III de Medici in 1716, the first law in the wine sector”.

The history of this event goes back a long way. On the Arengario of Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria, the Mayor of the community of Rufina offered Chianti wine to the city of Florence together with the keys to the “County of Turicchi”. A traditional cart topped by a pyramid of 1500 flasks full of Chianti, pulled by the typical Chianina breed “oxen”, historically portrayed in the most beautiful historical photos of the Alinari Brothers. The “Carro Matto”, as it was baptized, is a work of exceptional construction mastery by the master winemakers of Val di Sieve now gathered in the Committee for the Carro Matto of Rufina.
The “Fiaschi”, typical glass containers with a pot-bellied appearance and covered with straw, are stacked in a pyramid and intertwined with straw and natural ligaments in order to contain each other. An ingenious transport system that allowed the wagon to transport large quantities of wine from the countryside to the city.

On Sunday 1 October the Historical Reenactment and parade of the Historical Procession of the Florentine Republic, Historical Procession of Wine and the Contado of Rufina will be held at Villa Poggio Reale >. Followed by the historic football match of the “Old Glories”. The grand finale is at 10.45pm with the fireworks show which will close another beautiful edition of Bacco Artigiano.