ZAFFERIAMO 2024

It was once called “crocus.”. Today it is a red treasure that then turns yellow: it is saffron, an ancient and fascinating spice of which the lands of Città della Pieve are so rich that it is celebrated for 3 days, from 25 to 27 October.

“Zafferiamo” is the event through which the splendid town in the province of Perugia celebrates its flagship product every year. Promoted by the Municipal Administration and the Consortium “Il Croco di Pietro Perugino—Saffron of Città della Pieve A.Viganò,”  the event proposes the “purest saffron in threads of Città della Pieve” in all its facets. Starting from gastronomy, of course, with expert cooks who will explain to visitors the secrets for its correct use in the kitchen, offering tasting delights with the scents of saffron, and the restaurants of the town that will present special themed menus, great space will be given to the themes of health and well-being with a dedicated area, while in the market exhibition of the excellence of the territory, set up in the historic center, the producers of the Consortium will propose all the declination of products made using the precious spice.

Visitors will discover that from cooking to fabrics to painting and cosmetics, the possible uses of saffron are many and have their roots in the distant past; for this reason, in Città della Pieve, the spice is not only an agricultural product; its color tones and its scents are intertwined with its history and its art, to the point of constituting an essence. Used since ancient times, the plant was called “crocus” first by the Greeks, then by the Romans and again throughout the Middle Ages; the Arabs spread it in Spain and we owe the current name to them, which derives from the Persian “safra” (yellow), passed into the Arabic “za’faràn,” and then into the Spanish “azafran.”.

In the three days of “Zafferiamo,” there will be workshops for the dyeing of fabrics and yarns with saffron, as well as the exhibition of lace and embroidery made with the particular technique of Punto Perugino; it will be possible to participate in demonstrations and workshops of painting with the watercolor technique to obtain, from infused saffron, all shades of red gold, or admire the collective exhibition of works made with the use of saffron, the photographic exhibition “Fruit of Art”and the pomological one” Fruit from Lifeon the ancient local varieties of fruit; and again, at the “Mani in pasta” cooking workshop, discover all the secrets of hand-made pasta with saffron. Particular attention will be paid to the beneficial qualities of saffron, with doctors and nutritionists who will be available to visitors every day in the Health and Wellness Area.