Arde Lucus (also written as ''Arde Lvcvs''; ) is a festival celebrated in
Lugo
Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...
, Spain in the last weeks of June which revives the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
and
castro past of the city, and which emerged to commemorate the declaration of the
city's Roman walls as a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 2000. In its latest editions it has reached nearly half a million visitors.
''Acaba un Arde Lucus no que máis de 460.000 persoas botáronse á rúa en tres días''
, nova en ''El Progreso'' o 27 de xuño de 2010.
History
This festivity, which tries to evoke the ancient Lucus Augusti in the 3rd century, began to be celebrated in the year 2000, growing in popularity year after year, with more and more people dressing up in Roman and castro attires. In the year 2009 the festival reached 460.000 participants, leaving a profit of around 10 million euros in the city.
It is necessary to mention that also, the council counts with the help of diverse associations for the celebration and ambient atmosphere of the festival, performing in many of the activities. A few of these associations are Cohors III Lucensium, Terra Copora, Ludlum, Tir Nan'og, and Trebas Galaicas.
The first female only association, the Assemblearias de Lucus Augusti, was founded in 2012, by Dr Cristina Arias Rey along with 10 others. The current president of the group is Pilar Arias.
Activities
All of the activities mix the city's Roman past with the "permission" for the celts to perform some of their rites inside the city walls.
Some of the highlighted events include:
*''Military Camps''
They are a series of camps which have to be set up by the participants, who can be groups of people or associations, and in which they must "live" dressed up with the clothes and objects of the era. In its last edition, the camps were situated in the "Carril das Estantigas", inside Lugo's Roman walls. Also, each camp can organize its own activities and shows, always open to everyone. These camps can either be Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
or Castro.
*''Celtic weddings''
In this activity, the couples who wish to, can be wed by the ancient Celts
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
rite, love union which lasts until the next year. Then, the couple can decide whether they want to renew their marriage or not (it is the woman who decides the renewal). If the marriage is renovated during seven consecutive years, the union will remain forever. At the end of the wedding, each couple is given a wedding certificate.
*''Macellum''
An artisan market where all sorts of Roman goods are sold. Magic, juggling and music shows also take place in this place.
*''Roman circus''
It takes place in the "Parque de Rosalía", near the historic centre. Ancient Roman activities like gladiator fights, or quadriga
A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in classical antiquity and the Roman Empire. The word derives from the Latin , a contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke. In Latin the word is almos ...
races, imitating the ancient Roman circuses.
*''The burning of the city walls''
In this show, the siege of the Roman city is recreated, with fights between different groups and associations, as well as many volunteers, as well as a fireworks display.
*''Comilonum''
It is an enormous open air banquet in which tables are placed around the Roman wall. In the 2009 edition it was substituted by the "Tabernae", a diner located in the Praza da Soidade.
*''Other events''
Apart from the others, there are many other activities like Bacchanalia
The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in R ...
, statue building, magic shows, fancy dress parades, Roman clothes contests, Roman games, battle recreations between Romans and Celts, gladiator fights, slave sales, Roman weddings, military instruction in the city's streets and different activities to remind the citizens of the Roman and Castro past of the city. There are also some music and dance shows and parades.
Notes
External links
Official web pagePrograma das festas (2009)Asociación Cohors III Lucensium
Asociación Terra Copora
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arde Lucus
Lugo
Festivals in Spain
Culture of Galicia
Tourist attractions in Galicia (Spain)
2000 establishments in Spain
Festivals established in 2000
Summer in Spain