The Battle of Oranges

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This is one of the most unusual festivals in Italy. The festival is held in the middle of winter during the winter carnival. The entire city of Ivrea near Turin turns into a battlefield. Oranges are thrown through the streets to recreate a legendary mid evil battle when the starving townspeople were freed from the tyranny of an evil baron.

Nowadays There are nine 'teams' that represent the different neighbourhoods of the city that participate in the battle. Neighbourhood teams wage a citrus civil war using tons of the fruit as artillery in a multi-day battle. As many as 200,000 kilos of oranges are used.  Not everyone is happy about it. Some people think it's a waste of all the fruit.