Fehta dou pan ner (Rye Bread festival)

This festival is held around a very old wood-burning oven at the heart of the village of Marine, which is brought back to life every year for the occasion. The traditional bread loaves made with rye flour also used to be prepared in specially rich versions with chestnuts, cumin and dried fruits and were cooked once a year in the community ovens in each village. When eaten freshly-baked, it has a delicious fragrance but in the past it used to be kept on special wooden frames, called “ratelë”, for several months. When it became dry, the bread used to be split using a typical tool, called a “Copapan”. The bread-baking usually starts about a week before the festival and continues until the Sunday on which the festival is held, when the bread accompanies a fine lunch based on kid, sausages and the essential polenta.