The burning of the Giubiana in Alzate Brianza

Alzate Brianza - Today we are in Alzate Brianza, in the province of Como. It is the 30th of January and, like every last Thursday of the month of January and, as per tradition in Brianza, one of the most famous popular festivals is celebrated: the fire of the Giubiana. The procession starts from the symbol of Alzate Brianza, the medieval tower. The men dressed in the typical white tunic come out from inside and the show begins.

According to the tradition represented in the historical re-enactment, the Castellana is condemned to the stake following a high treason towards the city. This sentence is symbolically remembered every year, on the evening of the last Thursday of January. The stake remains a fireworks display to be admired. The legends about the Giubiana are all manifold; every year the children, together with the help of the proloco, make drawings with a negative thought or fear to be thrown at the stake, as if to chase it away. Finally, tradition has it that risotto with sausage is eaten accompanied by the typical mulled wine.