Orange Battle Festival: (March) 2019 — Only for the brave 1

Event extras

• Ivre Orange Festival Tips

  Ivre Orange Festival Tips

  1# Berretto Frigio Cap-Avoid Getting Hit

  If you chose to observe, you are encouraged to purchase and wear a Berretto Frigio Cap- which is a red hat that marks you as a “revolutionary,” and should protect you from getting fruit purposefully hurled your way (although you still may get hit). As well, if you are wearing the Berretto Frigio, you are technically not allowed to throw oranges (fair game).

  2# How To Battle

  There are observers scattered throughout the festival over the 3 days who will, on Tuesday, award the three best teams based off of their bravery, accuracy, throwing ability, resiliency, and ability to follow the rules. Therefore, if you chose to go into battle, do so boldly, work on your throwing arm, and do not hit the horses. Perhaps get into character: imagine you are actually in battle.

  3# Consider The Orange. Dress Accordingly

• What to Do

  What to Do

  Aside from throwing oranges and watching the food war wage on, there are many other things to do and see in Ivrea.

  For instance, there is a chocolate shop that is as creative and ingenuitive as it delicious, Nella Chocolate, where they even have high heel shoes made of chocolate!

  You can take a walk down the Via Arduino and Palestro, which are the main shopping streets, or even check out one of Ivrea’s several museums, like that of the Art in Ivrea Civic Museum.

• Where to Stay

  Where to Stay

  After a day spent on the fruitful battlefield, you are going to want a nice, comfortable place to rest your head and wash the orange out of your hair.

  
  
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  For roughly $100 per night, there are beautiful hotels near the action, such as La Civetta

  
  
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  and L’Angelo del Convento.

  
  
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• What To Eat

  What To Eat

  Since the oranges are rejects from the winter harvest in Sicily, they will be less than desirable to munch on.

  Torta 900

  Fear not! There are many great places to eat in this ancient town, and not to mention some spectacular cuisine found only in Ivrea, such as the Torta 900 – a delectably sweet chocolate cake whose recipe is a century old secret, and can only be purchased from the Balla Cake Shop.

  La Mugnaia Restaurant

  If you prefer a more savory meal, to offset all the sweet smell of citrus in the air, you can try some rare and exquisite Italian cuisine at La Mugnaia (fittingly named after the miller’s daughter, a town hero) such as their famous ravioli.

• How to Get There

  How to Get There

  Flight

  Train

  Bus

  Car

  By Air

  If you are flying into Italy, the closest airport is going to be Turin International. From there, you have a few options getting to Ivrea: either by train, bus, or car.

  By Train

  From Torino Porta Susa, you can take the Turin-Aosta line hourly for around $10 to get to Ivrea (takes about an hour).

  By Bus 

  As your cheapest option, you can take the bus leaving once every two hours from Fermata 10001 station in Turin to Fermata 11242 station in Ivrea for only $2 (takes about 2 hours).

  By Car

   Taking a taxi to Ivrea from Turin will cost you about $110.

  However, if you are driving your own car or a rental from Turin, the gas is estimated at only $10 and you can easily get there by taking A5 to Strada Statale 565, and then taking exit Ivrea (takes about 45 minutes).

  Do you want to experience the area first hand? Hire a car with our search engine

  

   

  For Nav systems, type in Ivrea, Italy. or near the center of the town at Palazzo Civico Ivrea.

  GPS coordinates: 45.4672,7.8762

• A Wee Bit Of Ivrea Orange Festival History:

  A Wee Bit Of Ivrea Orange Festival History:

  Legend has it that an evil duke, Guido III, once did a terrible job ruling Ivrea and was despised by the townsmen.

  The evilness of Guido III once attempted to rape the the miller’s daughter (la “Mugnaia”), Violetta, and forced her into his castle. She valiantly refused his attempt by cutting off his head, which prompted riots of comrades on the streets and the destruction of his castle, resulting in a much-needed revolution.

  The Ivrea Orange Festival is to commemorate this uprising of the citizens.

   

  In the early years of the festival, beans were thrown instead of oranges (Battle of the Beans?), afterwhich they used apples (ouch).

  Silly enough, no one knows for sure where the idea oranges came from. Some say they represent the stones that were thrown at the castle, while others rumor that they represent the removed testicles of the late tyrant.