Popular folklore is still particularly alive in San Giovanni in Marignano: the Night of the Witches falls on the dates of the Summer Solstice. The rural world and popular folklore are still particularly vital in the town. Rites, traditions and tales are handed down and are still particularly heartfelt.
Since 1988, the event "La Notte delle Streghe" (The Witches' Night) has punctually marked the beginning of summer on the Romagna Riviera, and every year it is greeted enthusiastically by thousands of visitors who choose it for the alchemy of the market, with its handicrafts, essences, flavours, handicrafts and herbal ointments, but also the magic of the sets, the enchantment of the shows and the many animations that colour the alleys of the centre, and the traditional specialities offered by restaurants and stands. The event is also an opportunity to greet the arrival of summer by recovering rituals and folklore that
dialogue with the popular Romagna tradition of Solstice and St John's Day celebrations.
On the initiative of a few people from Marignano, in the 1980s it was decided to bring together the traditional celebrations linked to the patron saint (St John the Baptist, 24 June) with the popular folkloric rituals of the summer solstice (which falls on 21 June) in a period rich in ritual and traditional elements: the
of ritual and traditional elements: the returning summer, good weather that makes the harvest rich, but also the value of natural elements in human life. It is therefore not surprising that the celebration of 'The Night of the Witches' dialogues with natural elements: water, capable of giving
power to what it touches thanks to the hand of the saint, the fire that purifies and restores life, propitiating health and well-being, the air that becomes warmer and heralds the fine season, the earth that at this time of year offers its most beautiful fruits and manifests the work of the farmer.
For 30 years now, the Marignano event has been recounting the Witches, goddesses and magical herbalists, and their spells, with curiosity, amazement and enchantment, and is now a veritable festival populated by various artists who, for five days, enliven the village with acrobatics, magic and many entertaining performances for young and old alike.
"The Night of the Witches" is a truly community and artisanal event, in the realisation of which the entire village participates in the setting up of displays, shop windows and the creation of scenery and animation, which becomes international thanks to the large and varied participation of both artists and visitors from different backgrounds.