Special Events

Annual Events in Buonconvento:

Carnevale
For the past fifteen years, Buonconventini have gathered for a costume parade to commemorate the beginning of the Lenten season. Hundreds gather in allegorical costume for a reenactment. Festive dances and feasts follow.

Fiera Antiquaria Cose del Passato
Buonconvento’s antique fair takes place from Good Friday to Easter Monday. It is a popular destination for people collecting furniture, prints, and various other antiques.

Mostra e dimostra
Buonconvento hosts art shows to highlight local artisans at various points in the year, including during sagra.

Processione del Gesa morto
At 9:00 on Good Friday, townspeople reenact the Passion with a procession that was begun in 1726.

Festa patronale dei SS. Pietro e Paolo
This festival, held as close as possible to the 29th of June, celebrates Buonconvento’s patron saints, Peter and Paul. The religious celebrations have expanded to include feasting, sporting, and music, as well as a fireworks display.

Prima luna d’estate
Buonconventini gather at a great table along the middle of the Via Soccini to celebrate the “first moon of summer” around the third Saturday of June. All four quarters of town put on the dinner with the help of local restaurants and producers. It is open to all, although a reservation is necessary. Traditional songs follow.

Trebbiatura
Midway through July, when the grain is ready for harvesting, this event is a chance to reflect on an important period in the year of the local farmer. The threshing takes place on a Sunday afternoon, after which there is a dinner in the style of a traditional farm table.

I had just arrived in Buonconvento the week of Sagra 2005 and was wandering the streets wondering if they were always so busy. On the Via Oscura, I paused outside a set of double doors thrown wide open where ten or so women gathered around a table covered in flour, rolling pici for the night’s dinner. One such lady grabbed my hand and asked me to help, telling me that they needed all the help they could get making pasta for the two thousand or so people they would feed that night. Indeed, there is no better time to find welcome to Buonconvento’s table.

— mgh

Sagra della Valdarbia
The last week in September, the comune and its four quarters put on the biggest event in Buonconvento’s year. Although the modern event was founded in 1969, its creators claim that the feast echoes an agricultural fair begun on September 24, 1805, the Fiera delle merci e del bestiame, a “fair of goods and beasts.” The fair in its present state is a feast for the Chianina beef cattle that is renowned around the world for its high quality. For two weekends, each of the town’s quarters sponsor three course dinners, featuring Chianina, in the streets of town where visitors may wander and choose from the menus for a nominal price. During the week in between, the quarters divide dinner making duties. This is a time when locals and travelers mingle at long communal tables, wine flows freely, and the air of celebration is palpable. Various other events span the nine days of the feast. An art show in the old Infants School on the Via D. Alighieri showcases local artists. Various other events highlight artisans, folklore, and photography. Every evening, the Piazza Arrigo VII serves as a stage for bands and dancing the elegant “liscio.”