Maybe you are looking for a European festival that has not been so complicated for tourists. If you travel to Italy in summer, visit the city of Sedilo, in the heart of Sardinia. Host a horse race and festival like you’ve probably never seen before.
One of the biggest festivals in Sardinia is L’Ardia di San Costantino, which commemorates Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Bridge of Milvio in 312, where Constantine is reported to have seen a flaming cross with the words “In this sign you will conquer” .
Every year on July 6 and 7, Constantine’s charge is recreated with a monumental horse race held on the grounds of the Sanctuario di San Costantino, just outside the eastern border of Sedilo.
On the night of the race, horses and jockeys gather on a hill outside the sanctuary grounds. The local priest and mayor deliver great speeches accompanied by eloquent gestures: prayers for safety, prayers for Constantine’s victory, and therefore for Christianity. As the pageantry seats the horses from duty and descends the hill, the man represents Constantine first, then his two standard-bearers, then the thunderous herd behind.
When they arrive at the sanctuary, they stop, then slowly surround it, being blessed by the priest each time they pass through the front door, seven times. But on this day, Constantine takes off after the sixth pass, leading all challengers to the dry fountain that marks the end of the race. The city of Sedilo breathes a collective sigh of relief; a victory means that the basic principles of Christianity have been renewed for another year.
Afterward, the crowd heads into an open field where piglets spin in wood-fired ovens and skewered eels writhe in painful ecstasy on the embers.
Here are the rules: only one person per year can play Constantine, and only if he has received some special dispensation from God. Evidently, God has become more and more magnanimous in his gestures towards the people of Sedilo; there are so many applicants that a rider can be sure to have to wait a few years before having a chance to pay their creator. By then he is old enough to require all the advantages he can muster against the younger and savage riders. Most gravitate toward the element of surprise.
The next morning the race runs for the locals, except this time the course has been transformed into a minefield of crushed beer cans and bottle fragments. After the race, everyone trudges to the priest’s house for sips of vernaccia (the local wine) and a bite of pastries. Then it goes to the flagger houses for more of the same.
And by the way, there is only one glass for that vernaccia. It is a kind of intimate exchange. This is Sardinia. You will get used to it.
When : annually on July 6 and 7
Where : Sedilo, Sardinia, Italy
How to get there: take a flight to Cagliari from Rome or Milan, the Tirrenia ferry from Civitavecchia to Cagliari or Olbia / Golfo Aranci or the ferries to Sardinia from Civitavecchia to Cagliari. There is no train station in Sedilo. Your best option is to rent a car in Cagliari and drive north to Sedilo.
Accommodation: It is unlikely that you will find accommodation near Sedilo for the festival. The Hotel Su Gologone in Sardinia is a bit far but in tune with the Sardinian way of life. The nearest larger city is Oristano.
