Santa Lucia in Cascina
Santa Lucia, the longest night there is.
The night of Saint Lucia is one of the most magical moments of the year for the children of our area. On the night between 12 and 13 December this delicate saint crosses towns and countryside with her cart pulled by her faithful donkey and, announced by her characteristic ringing of the bell, leaves gifts from door to door to all the little ones. Santa Lucia in Treviglio is a deeply felt tradition, as well as in Bergamo and Brescia. In Cascina they are truly special days, those that precede the longest night of the year.
The cult of Saint Lucia is very ancient: born in Syracuse in 283 AD into a Christian family, she was denounced for her beliefs and martyred at just 21 years old. Tradition has it that Lucia was deprived of her eyes and for this reason, from north to south, Lucia is recognized as the protector of sight. The spread of his fame in northern Italy starting from the 14th century is due to the transfer of his relics from Constantinople to Venice.
In the city of Bergamo there is a statue of Saint Lucia, in a tiny and characteristic church. In December, hundreds of families visit this place to leave a little letter to the saint: thousands of squared sheets full of dreams, hopes, thanks and wishes clutter the spaces around her shrine. Writing and delivering the letter to Saint Lucia is one of the musts of December, an indelible memory for today's little ones and for the children of the past.
Once the letter has been posted, all that remains is to wait. Here, the night of December 12th finally arrives. If you're lucky, it can even snow and the snow makes the wait even more perfect. It is all too easy to predict what happens in the houses that evening: the children peer into the darkness at the window, hoping to see it pass in the night and the suggestion is so strong that the noise of the bell and the donkey's hooves becomes real. They linger, until they are picked up by their parents and sent to bed. First, however, some fundamental gestures, shared by the whole family: tradition requires that the table be prepared with care: a cup of milk, a few biscuits, a handful of scented hay or a carrot for the donkey. Slow and sweet gestures, which marked the childhood of all of us children waiting for Saint Lucia.
Grandfather Carlo still remembers them: milk and hay, because there was plenty of that in the Cascina. The scent of wood in the fireplace, the darkness of the countryside, the waiting. And then waking up in the morning, going downstairs and finding the hay scattered in the kitchen and the empty cup of milk. Saint Lucia passed and left the children oranges, apples, nuts, sweets and a magic that they will never forget.
We are very excited this year, for this Saint Lucia. On Saturday 11 December from 10:00 we will welcome some families to the Cascina to give them an authentic experience to discover our short supply chain: a journey that starts from our meadows, a source of nutritious fodder, and arrives at stables where, on warm straw, they are born, like once, our calves and where cows and bulls rest. Then, a dip in the barn, to bring home a tuft of scented hay, so that this year too the Santa Lucia donkey doesn't miss his ration.
It will be truly special to share these moments with families in our area - we can't wait!
