We have a good description of the annual fair of Salona. The
description will be suggestive of picturesque recollections to
those who have seen the open air festivities celebrated by the
orthodox--_i. e._ by the children of the Greek Church, about Easter
time. We can take it upon ourselves to recommend highly the lambs,
wont to be roasted whole on these occasions. The culinary apparatus
is rude--consisting merely of a few sticks for a fire, and another
stick to be used as a spit--but the result of their operations is
most satisfactory.
"All Spalato is of course at the fair; and the road to Salona
is thronged with carriages of every description, horsemen,
and pedestrians. The mixture of the men's hats, red caps, and
turbans, and the bonnets and Frank dresses of the Spalatine
ladies, contrasted with the costume of the country women,
presents one of the most singular sights to be soon in Europe,
and to a stranger the language adds in no small degree to the
novelty. Some business is done as well as pleasure; and a great
number of cattle, sheep, and pigs are bought and sold--as well
as various stuffs, trinkets, and the usual goods exhibited at
fairs. Long before mid-day, the groups of peasants have thronged
the road, not to say street, of Salona; some attend the small
church, picturesquely placed upon a green, surrounded by the
small streams of the Giadro, and shaded with trees; while others
rove about, seeking their friends, looking at, and looked at by
strangers, as they pass; and all are intent on the amusements of
the day, and the prospect of a feast.
"Eating and drinking soon begin. On all sides sheep are seen
roasting whole on wooden spits, in the open air; and an entire
flock is speedily converted into mutton. Small knots of hungry
friends are formed in every direction: some seated on a bank
beneath the trees, others in as many houses as will hold them;
some on grass by the road-side, regardless of sun and dust--and
a few quiet families have boats prepared for their reception.
"In the mean time, the hat-wearing townspeople from Spalato
and other places, as they pace up and down, bowing to an
occasional acquaintance, view with complacent pity the
primitive recreations of the simple peasantry; and arm-in-arm,
civilisation, with its propriety and affectation, is here
strangely contrasted with the hearty laugh of the unrefined
Morlacchi."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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