Festa della Renga (Herring Festival)

The Festa della Renga in Parona is one of the most enchanting celebrations on Lombardy's festive calendar, an event with roots in a thousand-year tradition tied to waterways and river commerce. Celebrated each year on the evocative Ash Wednesday, this event represents a perfect blend of history, gastronomy, and spirituality: it marks the end of Carnival festivities and inaugurates the Lenten season with a culinary custom dating back to the era of Adige River boatmen. According to legend, it all began when boats sailing upriver were forced to stop in Parona during holiday periods, blocked by the chains that regulated river traffic. The navigators, avid consumers of salted herring, encouraged local innkeepers to specialize in their preparation and pairing with polenta, thus creating a culinary tradition that endures to this day. It is no coincidence, then, that on the first day of Lent—when religious tradition calls for ‹eating lean›—the Parona community gathers to celebrate this symbolic dish. Today the festival continues to captivate visitors and residents with stalls offering delectable specialties, traditional first courses, and carefully selected wines, all accompanied by entertainment and conviviality for the entire community. A unique opportunity to rediscover the charm of Lombardy's river traditions and savor an authentic gastronomic heritage.