There is nothing the Italians love better than a good festival. They have a festival for everything; chocolate, olive oil, truffles, tomatoes, pizza – you name it, they have it. Throughout the year, each village or town will spend many months organising and planning its own extravaganza for everyone to enjoy.

The sense of community spirit is amazing, not only because everyone has a fabulous time, but often because these festivals raise a huge amount of revenue to support their local communities.

A friend of mine is helping to organise a food festival near Citta di Castello in Umbria. This well-supported festival happens every year around mid June. Everything that is needed for the event is sourced locally; all the food and wine is bought from local producers and local shops. The festival runs over three evenings and around 3000 people attend with the expectation of fabulous offerings. With takings expected to reach €120,000 the hope is always to make a healthy profit that can be spent on local initiatives.

Incredibly, around 400 of the locals will work industriously behind the scenes cooking, serving and clearing up. All of them will provide their time willingly and free of any charge.

Some festivals have become known internationally and people fly in from all over the world to participate in them. Probably the best known is the Palio of Siena which involves the racing of horses around the town square.

A couple of weeks ago I had an opportunity to go along to the Ceri Festival which takes place in the medieval town of Gubbio in Umbria. I can honestly say that I hadn’t experienced such exhilaration, which was also mixed with a little bit of fear, in a long time.

In true Italian style, a team of extremely fit and strong men race through the crowded streets carrying an enormous wax candle which weighs 400 kilos.

The event begins at dawn when the trumpeters tour the town to wake up the locals but most importantly the Cerioli (the team of people who carry the candles). The Cerioli then attend a mass at the main church and at around noon the real pomp and ceremony starts. There are three teams that arrive in the main square to the cheers of their supporters.

Each team is headed by a captain, trumpeters and flag wavers.

It’s difficult to imagine how these teams could actually enter the square as it is already full to bursting point. There are no health and safety precautions here; as each team forces their way through to the town hall the intensity, joy and excitement grows within the crowd. Then the candles are raced out from the medieval town hall into the middle of the packed crowd, who despite being pushed aside like skittles in a bowling alley (this is where the fear entered in) are all cheering and clapping as loudly as possible. The candles are each raised and then raced around the main square before they head off around the town. This, however, is not the race; this is a warm up. At this point in the proceedings, the crowd is at fever pitch, eager for the race to get started.

At six o’clock in the evening the race finally starts and as the teams weave and rush through the streets, the candles can often fall or smash against walls. What is so very Italian about the whole event is that everyone embraces it with a love for life and good humour. The winner of the race is a forgone conclusion because tradition dictates that it will always be the team representing Saint Ubaldo, the patron saint of Gubbio, who must win every year. However, it will be the debates over dinner and in the bars of Gubbio that will determine who was the real winner. The real winner is determined by who carried the candle in the most effective and elegant way. How very Italian – style is always the winner.

The Italians are very open and friendly people so if you get a chance to go along to a local festival you will always be made to feel welcome. Even if you can’t speak the language the exchange of a hearty hug and a ‘salute’ with a glass of red wine can always be understood.