THE FESTIVAL

The “Malvasia Festival Monemvasia” is the first international Malvasia Festival based in Monemvasia, devoted to the most famous wine in history. Inspired by the verse of the Monemvasian poet, Yannis Ritsos “And what was it? Reversed time?”, the Festival marks the Malvasia’s return to its birthplace, Monemvasia, which Yannis Ritsos called “the stone ship”.

The Festival is organized following the three elements that compose the Malvasia Myth, “Wine – History – Art”. Visitors are invited to a three-day celebration to initiate into the Myth of the most famous wine.

wine history culture

The centuries-long presence of Malvasia wine, combined with both the expansion of production from local to international vineyards and commercial activity, contributed to Malvasia wine become a factor of timeless collective experience and an opportunity for multicultural interaction.

The location, its history and the famous Malvasia wine become the foundations on which activities with oenological, historical and cultural value, educational seminars, tours, musical and artistic events are developed.

While the past interweaves with the present, the theme of the first Malvasia Festival borrows the phrase “Reversed Time” from a poem by Yannis Ritsos, marking the return to the birthplace. In Monemvasia, where the narrative of the Malvasia Myth begins based on a local product that has travelled all over the world.

*The verse is from the poem by Yannis Ritsos “Leaving Monovasia”, included in the poetry collection “Monovasia”, Kedros Publications, 1982.

...REVERSED TIME

Malvasia wine is a form of cultural expression that never stops evolving, is connected to its location and history and invites us to experience its mythical journey from Monemvasia to the world.

A modern 1000-year-old Myth!

Transnational Cooperation Project

THE MALVASIA MYTH

Malvasia Festival Monemvasia is part of Transnational Cooperation Project “The Malvasia Myth”.

The Transnational Cooperation Project entitled “The Malvasia Myth” was designed and implemented under the LEADER/CLLD community program, by the cooperating development organizations LAG Parnonas (Monemvasia-Parnonas, Greece), GAL Del Ducato (Parma-Piacenza, Italy), LAG Central Istria (Istria, Croatia).

The project promotes networking, collaboration and highlighting the Malvasia wine producing regions and their particular characteristics, i.e. history, tradition, nature, gastronomy and culture.

The aim is to collect, record and present the stories from all the Malvasia production areas, building an overall narrative, a “myth” about the history and culture of the Malvasia wine, in a modern way and perspective, creating a new “cultural brand” for the mythical route of the wine, for the different experience offered by each production area, for the cultural value of the “Wine Route of Malvasia”.

The main object of the project is the promotion and dissemination of the wine culture and the interconnection of the touristic identity of the regions with the products that have quality, reputation but, at the same time, history and culture, thus offering the production regions tools for the development of the culinary, wine and cultural tourism, making use of this cultural heritage of their products.

One of the local actions of the project is the design and implementation of the Malvasia Festival Monemvasia.

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