The Battle of the Oranges
What: The battle of the oranges is a celebration of freedomand liberty, that sees thousands of people flock to the small town of Ivrea, Italy and over the course of three days engage in an orange based food fight between nine combat teams across both the streets and square of Ivrea.
Officially commemorating the cities defiance against a 12th century city tyrant, who attempted to enact prima-nocta on a bride-to-be (known as the millers wife) only to get himself decapitated, the battle of the oranges is now both a uniting, passionate and semi-violent event the nine teams, who are all on foot and dressed in battle attire, seek to ‘destroy’ both the other teams, and a team representing the armies of the tyrant – who are led around the various streets and squares of Ivrea on horse drawn carriages.
While some 4.2 million oranges will be thrown during the festival, there is no requirement for spectators to get involved, with people having the option to either watch the carnage unfold from spectator galleries, or stand in the middle of the battle as either a neutral witness, indicated by a special red cap, or join one of the nine teams to participate in the ‘defence’ of Ivrea against the tyrants armies with the throwing of oranges.
When: The battle of the oranges takes place for 5 days going backwards from ash Wednesday – with the actual battle taking place across the three days from the Sunday up to shrove Tuesday, which is normally in mid-February.
Where: The Battle of the Oranges takes place all over the streets and squares of the town of Ivrea in Turin, Italy. Each of the nine teams will take a geo-graphically located section of the town to occupy and protect with oranges – with the regions each team are allocated decided in the days before the battle.
Duration: The battle of the oranges lasts for three days – with the entire festival lasting for five days. On the opening day – the Saturday before shrove Tuesday – an opening ceremony begins with a series of introductions including the millers daughter and the teams takes place, with both the teams and the millers daughter then parading through the streets of Ivera and each team settling into its official ‘territory.’
On the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday the battle of the oranges take place, with each fight beginning at roughly 2pm and lasting till dusk – with short breaks during the fights to allow for the judges to declare winners and for a special Pich e Pala Trophy – in which a nominated member of each team takes a long orange shot attempt to hit the city hall.
In the evening of the Tuesday, the winners of the years orange battle will be declared – with a trophy presentation and on the Ash Wednesday teams are back on friendly terms with shared wine and food.
Tickets: There are two main options to participate in the battle of the oranges; as a spectator or as a competitor.
As a spectator you have the option to stand behind protective mesh netting which is draped around the city square’s building – shielding you from any rogue oranges that might cause you damage and allowing you a full view of the Orange battle.
Or alternatively you can take the risker option and be right in the heart of the battle as a spectator – standing in the heart of the battle as a ‘Berretto Frigio’ – which means you’re off limits for direct hits from oranges and must wear a red cap to symbolise your neutrality – of course though given the volume of Oranges being chucked about, safety is not guaranteed. For those wishing to be a spectator in the thick of the action a €10 fee is required and paid upon entry if attending on Sunday, with entry being free on Monday and Tuesday – and the ‘Berretto Frigio’ costing €5 and available at the festival.
For those wishing to be an orange thrower for one of the nine teams, the process for foreigners is quite simple. Registration and applications open each year on the 10th of January and cost €90, with the applications available at each of the nine teams in the list below:
- Asso di Picche (aranceriassodipicche.it)
- Aranceri della Morte (arancerimorte.it)
- Tuchini del Borghetto (tuchini.it)
- Scacchi (aranceriscacchi.it)
- I Mercenari (mercenari.it)
- Pantera Nera (aranceripanteranera.com)
- I Diavoli (diavoliaranceri.it)
- Gli Scorpioni d’Arduino (scorpionidarduino.it)
- I Credendari Aranceri (credendariaranceri.it)
Need to Know:
If attending as a spectator – whether in the safety area or in the middle of the battle – safety from mis directed oranges cannot be guaranteed, so you can expect the occasional citrus treat, which can cause a bit of bruising heading your way.
It is also essential that if attending as a spectator you buy and wear a red berretto frigio – otherwise regardless of where you are you will be considered fair game, we’d also advise to stand a way awy from the horses and avoid targeting them with oranges at any cost.
Finally, be sure to protect valuables and especially glasses when at the festival as the oranges can do a bit of damage.