For three days each February, streets in the northern Italian town of Ivrea turn a brilliant shade of orange as residents pick a side and wage war with citrus fruit.
The epic food fight has taken place each year as part of the , in Piedmont. The Battle of the Oranges, which usually , is said to commemorate the overthrow of the town’s tyrant by the name of Violetta, .
While the festival’s exact origins are a little unclear, that the tyrant foolishly attempted to rape the miller’s daughter on the night before her wedding. In response, the young girl promptly decapitated the tyrant, carted his severed head around the town and ignited a popular revolt. She and her fellow peasants stormed the tyrant’s palace and burnt it to the ground.
The messy tradition has been running since 1808. Source: Getty images
For the event, aranceri (‘orange-throwers’) are split into two main groups: participants represent the commoners (), while people in carts play the part of the tyrant’s Napoleonic troops, who are determined to protect the status quo. Once the battle begins, all citrus-saturated hell breaks loose, with some 500 tonnes of oranges () ending up splattered over the streets, faces and all through heads of hair.
If orange war doesn’t quite sound like your forte, you can choose to wear a that symbolises bystander status. Bystanders are off limits – they can neither be targeted, nor throw oranges themselves. Of course, simply attending the festival means being hit with an orange is all but a certainty. Splash back is a real thing.
But why oranges? Why not something softer, like jelly, or chocolate mousse? Early in the festival’s lifespan, the weapon of choice was , and then apples (ouch!!). Oranges entered the game in , in place of the , and the fruit is said to . Seems logical. But the origins are a bit murky.
You can choose to wear a red hat that symbolises bystander status. Source: Getty
Here's one way of getting your daily dose of vitamin C. Source: Getty
Of course, European countries are no strangers to food fights. There’s , the famous (and seriously messy) tomato battle in Buñol, Spain; the , and the annual .
But the Battle of the Oranges is the only one fought with something as hard as an orange – the jury’s still out over just how painful being pegged with one (or more, in all likelihood) would actually be.
