1 VHS - 25 minutes
Subject:
Celtic interest
 History - Folklore
Italian language
Price: 8,50 Euros

A travel between Myth and Tradition: from the millenial fair to the cult of St. Orso (St. Ursus), the Irish saint who reached Aosta and became archdeacon of the city in spreading the Christianism throughout the Aosta Valley. We visit the Collegiate Church of St. Ursus where it’s possible to see its mysterious magical square and the cloister columns carved with odd figures, then we can listen the history of the fair’s origins connected to the travel and the legend of the Saint. St. Ursus is celebrated on February 1st, the date of Imbolc, the ancient great Celtic feast dedicated at the goddess Brighit whose veneration is reflected by the Christian cult for St. Brigid.
The most important event connected to the Saint is the “Foire de Saint-Ours” (St. Ursus’ Fair), which takes place in Aosta and dates back to the high Middle Ages (according to tradition, it began in the year 1000 AC). Every year on the 30th and 31st January all the craftsmen of the Valley have their meeting place at the city of Aosta. Great presence of the wood’s craftsmen: handicraft represents the main local activity distributed on all the territory of the region, as in towns as in out-of-the-way small villages. The wood artists exhibit their fair sculptures and a lot of other magnificent tools handcarved with remarkable artistic and technical level, such as the wooden chopping-boards and the butter moulds (used to stamp designs on butter), the “grolla” traditionally inspired to the Holy Graal and placed side by side with the Coppa dell’Amicizia (Friendship Cup), a bellied bowl with spouts used for drinking the hot typical Aosta Valley coffee.