Food for Thought: Ivrea's Battle of the Oranges

The most popular origin story of Ivrea's Battle of the Oranges involves a despotic medieval lord invoking jus primae noctis on the wedding night of a local miller's daughter, only to be decapitated by her, thus inciting a revolt. Later, the people of Ivrea came to celebrate their triumph over tyranny via an annual reenactment. Initially, beans were the festive ammunition of choice, but during the mid-1800s, women were said to have substituted locally grown missiles for exotic French oranges in order to get the attention of their targets — men whom they deemed handsome.

Every year, the battle kicks off on the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday. Participants may either ride about on horse-drawn carriages as the lord's palace guards or join one of the nine teams of orange-hurling revolutionaries. Spectators who wish to avoid bruises may don red hats to signify their status as non-combatants or take in the spectacle of citrus-centric carnage behind netted windows.

The yearly food fight contains over 4,000 participants, attracts over 100,000 viewers and goes through roughly 500,000 kilograms of fruit. The chaos concludes when a woman chosen to represent the miller's daughter watches over the burning of the scarlo, a pole of juniper and heather. A brightly burning pole indicates a bright future.


義大利的水果大戰── 伊夫雷亞橘子節

伊夫雷亞橘子節廣為流傳的起源故事是關於一位專橫的中世紀領主，在一名當地磨坊業主女兒的新婚之夜行使初夜權，結果反而被她砍掉了頭，因此激起了反叛行動。後來，伊夫雷亞的人民藉由每年的實況重演來慶祝他們戰勝暴政。最初，豆子是節慶彈火的選擇，但在十八世紀中期，據傳女性會以來自異國的法國柑橘取代當地出產的豆子，來吸引目標的注意，而她們的目標是那些她們覺得英俊的男性。
每年，橘子節在懺悔星期二之前的週日展開。參加者不是以領主的宮殿守衛之姿四處騎乘馬車，就是加入丟擲橘子的九個革命鬥士隊伍的行列。希望避免瘀傷的旁觀者可戴上紅帽來表示自己並非戰鬥者，或是待在網窗的後方觀賞這場柑橘大屠殺的盛況。
這場年度食物大戰包含四千多名參加者，吸引逾十萬名觀眾，並大量使用約五十萬公斤的水果。混亂結束的時間點為一名被選為磨坊主人女兒的女子代表，看著燃燒的 scarlo── 一柱由杜松和石南花做成的長竿。燃燒旺盛的長竿預示著光明的未來。