FEAST OF BUCOUNTO. (Feast of the Greasy Hole)

During the week of San Martino (feast day November 11), Civitella Marittima, a village within Civitella Paganico county (GR), holds an Oil Festival called ‘del Buco Unto’. Every inhabitant of Civitella Marittima, a medieval village situated on a hilltop overlooking the Ombrone Valley, was once called a ‘greasy hole’. This nickname probably comes from the fact that in the past the villagers often wore trousers with greasy bottoms. It is thought that this was due either to the lard that was used on shoes and soiled the pants when the wearer knelt in church, or to the olive oil that was, and still is, an important factor in the life of the village because of the numerous oil mills in the area.