La Guazza ad San Zvan
23 June
Magical Midsummer Night
La Guazza ad San Zvan returns during the night of the eve of St. John the Baptist. Peasant Work organizes a series of events at various farms, wineries, agritourisms, and educational farms in Romagna.
Legend has it that “La Guazza di San Giovanni,” by tradition, is “present” on the night between June 23 and 24, the time when pagan ritual (summer solstice) meets and integrates with Christian culture (birth of St. John). One belief is that on this solsticial phase of the year, witches used to gather on this night around a very old walnut tree, and with the fruits of these bewitched trees, picked while still green and drenched in dew on the night of St. John’s Day, “nocino,” a liqueur made from the husks of walnuts, was prepared.
It is also the night when, in the countryside, basins are filled with water and flowers or herbs such as St. John’s Wort (iperico), lavender, mugwort, sage, mallow, mint, and other wildflowers and herbs.
The night dew makes the water magical; the following morning, this water was used to wash one’s face and hands in a propitiatory and purifying ritual to ensure love, luck, and health.
During the night, it was customary to walk barefoot through dew-drenched meadows to promote fertility and ward off illness.
The rituals of this magical night are truly endless!
Through this event, Il Lavoro dei Contadini aims to promote local products, food, and hospitality, blending them with the traditions of Romagna.
Each farm will host other agricultural businesses, artisans, writers, and journalists to discuss the traditions and rituals of St. John’s Night, such as the rite of bathing one’s feet in the dew to ward off danger, the gathering and identification of wild herbs, and the preparation of nocino.
Events for Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Agriturismo Nasano
Via Rilone 2 – loc. Mazzolano, Riolo Terme (RA)
Tel. 0546 70715 – Cell. 339 4939961 – www.tenutanasano.it – gardi.fabio@libero.it
Associazione Culturale “La Grama” – At the Museum of Rural Life
Via XVII Novembre, 2/a San Pancrazio (RA)
Museum Tel. 0544 552172 – www.vitacontadina.ra.it – vitacontadina@alice.it
Agriturismo “Il contadino telamone” by RO.2MA. agricultural company
Via Sacramora 12 – Reda di Faenza (RA)
Cell. 339 7242643 – info@ilcontadinotelamone.it – www.ilcontadinotelamone.it
Agriturismo “Campanacci”
Via Roncona 5, Faenza
Tel. 0546 642180
Cà Maccolina
Via Monte Visano n. 10, Brisighella
Cell. 333 6877972 – ca.maccolina@gmail.com
San Zaccaria Elementary School
Via Dismano, 464 San Zaccaria (RA)
Cell. 349-2136654
Recommended parking
Piazzetta Giorgina Danesi
Azienda Agricola Ravagli
Via Argine destro Montone 220, Ragone di Ravenna
Cell. 347 8884547 – ale.ravagli123@gmail.com
Azienda Agricola De Lorenzi Gualtiero
Via Petrosa 224, San Pietro in Campiano (RA)
Cell. 328 9427862 (Elisa) – @agricoladelorenzi
Find out more
Lavoro dei Contadini APS
Cell. 3394939961 – Lea Gardi
Mail
Event website
