Lonato Agricultural Fair Celebrates Tradition and Local Food Excellence
For the second consecutive year, Viviana Beccalossi, Vice President of the Region and Agriculture Assessor, cut the tricolor ribbon of the forty-third edition of the Lonato Agricultural Fair.
With her, Antonio Vizzaccaro, Chief of Staff to Minister Pecoraro Scanio, Giampaolo Mantelli, Provincial Agriculture Assessor, and many other local authorities, led by Mayor Morando Perini, along with the mayors of Desenzano and Castiglione delle Stiviere.
But also faces inseparable from this ancient fair, which perhaps more than ever this year has returned to its origins. Among them is Luigi Bertini.
“A welcome return to the past,” said the patriarch of the Sant’Antonio fair. “The community feels the event more closely, and the town center begins to pulse again.”
Main Program and Events
The fair will close tonight at 10 PM after a busy schedule of sporting, cultural, and artistic events.
Tomorrow evening at 9 PM, a conference on the theme “Evolution of Agriculture” will be held in the Celesti hall, featuring speeches by parliamentarians Sandro Fontana and Agostino Mantovani, and Roberto Berveglieri. The roundtable will be moderated by Gianbattista Lanzani.
Wednesday the 17th is the feast of the patron saint, with the return of the market stalls, but most notably, anticipation for the blessing of the animals and the award ceremony for the “Chìsöl” (the local sweet).
The gastronomic circuit “A tutto porcello,” involving 9 restaurants with highly competitive prices, will continue until February 4th: posters showing their contact details are displayed throughout Lonato.
Awards and Traditions
Returning to yesterday’s ceremony, both Viviana Beccalossi and Gianpaolo Mantelli expressed appreciation for the organization of the fair, which chose a theme centered around local traditional products and their enhancement.
Although stands feature products from other regions. “It’s a throwback to childhood,” recalled the Vice President of the Region. “What is beautiful about this fair is that it has maintained its unmistakable identity while safeguarding our products and the traditions of a great agricultural festival.”
Can the Lonato Fair withstand the wear of time? “Certainly,” responded Viviana Beccalossi. “When the quality of our agriculture and Brescia’s livestock is questioned, the Lonato Fair instead highlights its peculiarities.”
The Province of Brescia is at the forefront in protecting its products; it ranks among the top for wines and is first in Lombardy for the qualitative production of peaches.
The provincial assessor Mantelli highlighted the results of the promotional campaign for Brescia’s agri-food sector “which finds an important extension in Lonato.”
This policy has led to a certification model—one of the few in Italy—that guarantees the entire meat production chain.
The now customary provocation by farmers also took place at the start of the fair, when they distributed free tasty samples of pork and beef. Quality Brescia meat, as well as the wines on display. Yesterday afternoon was crowded, and the event will certainly continue with the same enthusiasm today.