The longest European medieval festival will be held in Europe

Lovers of historical reconstructions and chivalric romance are invited to Bologna in late autumn. Here on November 25, 2011 will begin the traditional annual medieval festival La Porticata. This bright and colorful festival annually brings together tens of thousands of tourists from around the world.

The festival in Bologna is popular also due to its duration, because it lasts more than a month and ends just before the New Year. Generally, La Porticata is the longest holiday of its kind in Europe. La Porticata program includes a series of costumed medieval performances, but the most interesting and spectacular are knights’ tournaments. They are held in Bologna in several disciplines, these are individual horse and foot battles, archery competitions and individual horsemen competitions, as well as reconstructions of many historic battles that took place in Italy. In addition to the knights’ competitions guests of the festival will enjoy performances of acrobats and jugglers, fire shows and puppet theater. During La Porticata will also be organized a medieval fair, where people will be able to taste the dishes prepared according to old recipes, taste the local wines and buy souvenirs. All events of the festival will be held on the three kilometer stretch of the old street Via Saragozza.

Bologna, located in the northern Italy in the Emilia-Romagna region, is popular among the tourists. It is a city with a very rich history, where is located the oldest European University founded in 1088. In the central part of the city preserved many architectural and historical monuments. In addiiton Bologna is called the "culinary capital of Italy" because it is the capital of the world famous Bolognese sauce, as well as tortellini and sugo Bolognese, mortadella and salsiccia sausages. According to the legend, in Bologna were invented tagliatelle from the egg pastry especially for the wedding of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso d'Este.