The Italian town of Ivrea will soon be celebrating its most unusual claim to fame: the annual Orange Carnival.

(TRAVPR.COM) UK - January 14th, 2013 - Like the Spanish festival of La Tomatina, which is devoted to staging the largest tomato food fight imaginable, the Orange Carnival (Storico Carnevale di Ivrea) consists of a free-for-all in which plump, juicy oranges are flung far and wide. The Orange Carnival, however, is a bit more organised as food fights go.

Instead of a wild free-for-all, the Orange Carnival of Ivrea features two opposing sides; each side is determined to battle it out to the very end. There is even a plot of sorts guiding action in the carnival: the contest is a battle royal between commoners determined to rebel against the tyrant ruling the town and the royal guards, who are just as determined to guard him from the melee. The fight looks a bit lopsided to outsiders, as the royal guards get to fling their juicy ammunition from carriages while the commoners, not surprisingly, are on foot.

The good news is that everyone is welcome and both locals and visitors alike and each individual wanting to participate can choose whether to act the part of a pampered royal guard or take his or her place with the poor peons determined to fight for all that is right and good.  

The Orange Carnival of Ivrea dates from the Middle Ages when, oddly enough, the ammunition of choice consisted not of oranges but beans. Oranges came into vogue instead after the end of World War II, when the modern form of the festival began to take shape.

The Orange Festival will run from 6th January to 22nd February 2013. For more information on the exact details, be sure to visit the official event website at http://www.storicocarnevaleivrea.it/English/ in order to arrive fully prepared to join in this most decadent celebration of the orange. 

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This event news update has been sponsored by Quality Villas Italy, leading Italian villa rental specialists for 27 years. Visit www.QualityVillasItaly.co.uk for more information.

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