Barbara Ronchi della Rocca from Turin will open the 12th edition of “Lavandaso”, the lavender festival of the Aso Valley in the Marche region.
A festival that combines history, scenic beauty and valorisation of the Marche region.
Monte Vidon Combatte, a charming historic village in the Aso Valley between the provinces of Ascoli Piceno and Fermo, is preparing to host “Lavandaso”, the lavender festival of the Aso Valleywhich this year celebrates its 12th edition.
This year too, the party will open with a preview on June 20th, starring the etiquette and etiquette expert Barbara Ronchi della Rocca, who will present her latest book “Il mondo dei Fiori” together with the journalist Claudio Porchia who will present the reprint of Guido Rovesti’s book dedicated to Lavender.
Barbara Ronchi will also hold a lesson on how to set the table with flowers on June 22nd.
The event, Lavandaso, was born in June 2012, from the idea of Roberto Ferretti, who was the first to cultivate lavender in this valley, giving it above all a tourist character and landscape enhancement of the area, rich in historic villages and cultivated hills of notable beauty.
Since 2017, the festival has taken place in the small and charming medieval village of Monte Vidon Fights, in the province of Fermo, organized by the Municipal Administration, the Pro Loco and the “Agrituraso-Marche” Association. Integrated Relational Tourism” of which Roberto Ferretti is president.
The festive days, with their varied and interesting events, are also a contribution to the revitalization of a village which, like many Italian villages in the hinterland, is the custodian of an immense cultural treasure, at risk of extinction due to the depopulation that it seems unstoppable.
Since 2012, numerous fields of lavender and other species of flowers and medicinal plants have been planted in the Aso Valley and in other places in the Marche, and since December 2023 a cultural association has been established by lavender growers called ” Lavender gardens in the Marche” which, at the moment, includes 14 companies located in various villages and locations in the Marche.
The visit to these companies will allow not only a pleasant break, immersed in the scents and colors of lavender and other flowers, but also an opportunity to be seized to really get to know the Marche, a region not as famous as others that enjoy a celebrity consolidated historically, but which presents sometimes unexpected beauties and attractions.
From this year, at LAVANDASO, the organization of events dedicated to lavender, such as the market, the conference and the seminar on the use of essential oils in the treatment of organic horticultural crops, is entrusted to the cultural association “Lavender Gardens in the Marche”.
Here is the program:
MONTE VIDON COMBATTE (Historic Centre)
20-22-23 June 2024 XII edition
LAVENDER – Flowers and herbs in the Marche
Organized by the MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION, with the collaboration of the PRO LOCO, of the aps association “AGRITURASO-MARCHE. Integrated Relational Tourism”, with the Ass. Cult. “LAVANDER GARDENS IN THE MARCHE”, the “TERRITORIO MAESTRO” company.
WASHING PROGRAM 2024.
THURSDAY 20 JUNE
At the “PALOMBARA”
For the Thursdays of Monte Vidon Combatte: “Waiting for Lavendaso”
9.00 pm – “Lavender in the world of flowers: stories, legends and curiosities”.
Meeting with Barbara Ronchi della Rocca and Claudio Porchia, with presentation of the books “World of Flowers”, by Barbara Ronchi della Rocca and “Lavender” by Guido Rovesti.
The narration of Barbara Ronchi della Rocca and Claudio Porchia is intertwined with one Floral Symphony, with Soeun Jeon (Soprano), Carlo Assogna (Tenor). Lulu Chen (Soprano), Elena Stamera (Piano), Choir AMARCORO. Arias dedicated to flowers by G. Donizetti, EP Tosti, L. Delibes, G. Verdi will be performed.
The traditional Chinese song “Molihua” (jasmine flowers), sung by the choir, and the toast of Verdi’s Traviata will conclude the evening…. with a glass of wine.
SATURDAY 22 JUNE
At the “PALOMBARA”
4.00 pm – Opening of the lavender market, organized by the association “Lavender gardens in the Marche”, with distillation workshops, making lavender bags, entertainment for children, etc.
At “TANA DI TINA”
4.30 pm – “The art of setting the table with flowers”, curated by Barbara Ronchi della Rocca, expert in good manners and the history of etiquette. Presents Claudio Porchia.
At “LA PALOMBARA”
5.00 pm – “LAVENDER in 360 degrees: history, botany, cultivation, harvesting, distillation, transformation into products, cosmetic, medicinal, food use, marketing”. Conference organized by the Cultural Association “Lavender gardens in the Marche” at “LA BOTTAIA”
6.30pm – “JEWELS OF TASTE. Vinegar not Vinegar of flowers, wild herbs, fruit and vegetables”, with ANGELA MOSTI.
Angela will present and make you enjoy her splendid products. She will tell us how she managed to create “vinegar is not vinegar” of flowers, plants and fruits, slowly fermented, which give incredible flavors and aromas and are used in the kitchen on every dish.
At the “CHURCH OF SAN BIAGIO”
7.30 pm – “Concert by candlelight and the scent of lavender by the Rubens Trio” with harp, viola and flute. Music by Fauré, Ibert, Part and Buendia. Sofia Marzetti (Harp). Carlo Piergallini (Viola) Dante Milozzi (Flute)
At the “SECRET GARDEN”
9.00 pm – “Co’ li VINCISGRASSI” dinner organized by the Pro Loco
SUNDAY 23 JUNE
At “LA PALOMBARA”
9.00 am (Gathering) e 9.30 am (Departure)
“Walk among flowers, wild herbs and history”, with The Valtenna Amateur Sports Association. Walk from Monte Vidon Combatte to Collina Vecchia and back (7 km). Stop at Collina Vecchia to admire the remains of the ancient incasato, which belonged to the bishop of Fermo since the year 1000 and was definitively abandoned, due to landslides and earthquakes, around 1934. A stop is planned at Collina Vecchia to learn about herbs and flowers wild under the guidance of Marisa Nanni.
12.30 pm: On the way back from the walkbrunch for the participants in the Vecchio Borgo di Monte Vidon Combatte edited by Master Territorywith products from Valdaso.
At “LA PALOMBARA”
4.00 pm – Opening of the lavender market, by the association “Lavender gardens in the Marche” with distillation workshops, making lavender bags, entertainment for children.
At “THE SECRET GARDEN”
04.00 pm – The “Vergara Account” opening of the Valdaso delicacies market, edited by “Agrituraso-Marche. Integrated Relational Tourism”. The name “Conto della Vergara” is inspired by the fairs and agricultural markets at the time of sharecropping where the sharecropper, and in particular the “Vergara” (peasant), was able to bargain for the products “that escaped the master’s eye” and the proceeds of which went to the exclusive benefit of the sharecropper’s family (poultry, eggs, wild vegetables and herbs, linen and hemp fabrics, straw or wicker crafts, such as hats and baskets, etc.)
At “LA PALOMBARA”
5.00 pm – Illustration of the “OliEssBIO Project: Production and use of essential oils in organic horticulture”. By theUniversity of Urbino and the MARCHE ESSENTIAL OILS Operational Group
At “THE SECRET GARDEN”
6.00 pm – Slow Food: “From the Sibillini to the Adriatic, community storytelling”. By Annalinda Pasquali (President of Slow Food Dei Porti-Fermano)
At “LA BOTTAIA”
7.00 pm – “Italea: journey into the roots of the Marche”. Presentation by the group of ITALY MARCHE of the project of “Roots Tourism” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation within the PNRR project and financed by Next Generation EU.
At “LA PALOMBARA”
8.00 pm – Concert by Michele Pecora, singer-songwriter
“THE VALDASO”, by theECOMUSEUM of the Aso Valley and its identity”, at the “Borgo Vecchio” and the “Bottaia”. Throughout the event on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June, the exhibition will remain open which will take us to discover a valley, from the Sibillini Mountains to the Adriatic, rich in history, art, nature and traditions.
DURING THE ENTIRE EVENT on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June, it will be possible to taste local products and delicacies curated by “TERRITORIO MAESTRO” at the TEATRINO in Borgo Vecchio.
