A morning at the Partanna Livestock Fair in Sicily

A Day Out at the Partanna Livestock Fair
Where children and adults alike can enjoy a good day out

Last Sunday I spent a few enjoyable hours at the Partanna livestock fair in western Sicily. We decided to go early, and we were glad we did. We decided to go early, and we were glad we did. Parking near the venue in Contrada Vallesecco was already getting harder to find, and one look at the sky told us it would pour within a few hours.

Looking for Vito

I had arrived hoping to see Vito Trapani, one of the fair’s regular stallholders and something of a living legend. He must be closer to ninety than eighty, and he is one of the last traditional basket weavers in Sicily. He comes from Menfi, still works out his sales with pencil and paper, and has never owned a mobile phone. He is usually there, but he must have known a thing or two about the weather. Probably worried about his wares getting wet, he stayed at home. I was disappointed, as I’d wanted to buy a holder for my paintbrushes. I’ll have to wait for the next fair, which is usually held on the second Sunday of every month, although in August it can be suspended because of the heat and for the welfare of the animals.

No Indian Runner Ducks at the Partanna Livestock Fair

There are always so many animals on display, and a great number of birds. I was looking for runner ducks. It isn’t that I’m short of eggs. My Australorp girls keep me well supplied, along with the mixed bag of twelve chicks I hatched this year. But there is something wonderfully entertaining about Indian Runner ducks, and they’re a breed I’ve always wanted to try. Like Vito, though, they were nowhere to be found.

Had I wanted peacocks, pheasants, or a rather large bronze turkey that would have done beautifully for Christmas, I wouldn’t have been disappointed. I could also have bought chickens of every kind from Sicilian Buttercups, the pretty Silver Sebright, Cochan with their feathered feet, Silver Spangled Appenzeller that always look as if they have had a bad hair day, and everything in between. There were budgies and cockatiels, finches and lovebirds too.

We moved around the cages while children crowded around the rabbits. The children were thinking how cute they were; the parents were probably sizing them up as a future breeding pair for the pot. Rabbit is very popular here, and so is donkey, both of which I find rather sad. I grew up on Beatrix Potter, and Eeyore was always a firm favourite.

The larger livestock ranged from horses to goats, sheep and pigs. My favourites were the Girgentana goats from the Agrigento area. They are sweet-looking animals with pale cream coats and long, corkscrew horns that grow straight up. Today they are prized for their rich, creamy milk, which goes into artisanal cheese.

Visit places like Borgo Parrini or Sambuca di Sicilia and you’ll see them painted on doors and walls. No one knows for certain when they arrived in Sicily, but they were brought over either by the ancient Greeks or by the Arabs when they conquered the island in the 9th century.

There was so much to take in that you didn’t know where to look first. The fair is a showcase for local breeds, but it also exists to encourage people into farming, especially the younger generation. With its falling birth rate, Italy faces a serious problem that will only grow, which makes fairs like this all the more important.

In one pen I noticed a boy of about seven weaving his way through sheep and goats that stood as tall as his shoulders. He was perfectly at ease, shooing away any that came too close, as he made his way to the smallest Girgentana, a little goat with a red collar and a small brass bell. With his arm around her neck, he guided her to the edge of the pen so a prospective buyer could take a closer look.

Having had our fill of the animals at the Partanna Livestock Fair, we headed for the food stalls. We hadn’t eaten breakfast, and the smell from a nearby barbecue was working on a stomach that was already quietly protesting. But the clouds were now very black, and knowing how hard it can rain after the long summer drought, we decided it was time to go. Not, of course, without buying some local cheese and dried sausage, both of which I’m very fond of.

Local cheese and gathering clouds

There were so many cheeses to choose from. As a cheesemaker myself, I never stop being amazed at how many different cheeses can come from just milk, salt and rennet. Most of the cheese here is made from sheep’s milk, which almost always means pecorino. Sometimes it’s studded with chilli or green olives, or, our favourite, with lightly crushed black peppercorns. There is also a wonderful cheese called Vastedda del Belice, which came about by accident when a batch of pecorino didn’t turn out right and the curds were reheated and stretched. Today it is one of the cheeses unique to the Belice Valley.

With our cheese and sausages in hand, we made our way towards the exit, past the band that was still setting up. We wove between stalls selling saddles, bridles and reins, wooden barrels made by a local cooper, honey and wine, flowers and plants for sale, and a table laid out with sheep bells, some threaded on leather collars, others on light wooden hoops that sit over the back of the neck.

The barbecues were still beckoning, and streams of people were still arriving, but we knew we had made the right call. We reached the car just before the heavens opened, and the much-needed rain finally arrived to break the long summer drought.

If you are in the area, I can highly recommend the Partanna Livestock Fair. It’s a great day out that the whole family can enjoy. Just make sure you arrive on the right day. Remember, it is held on the second Sunday of every month.