10 Bizarre Festivals You Won’t Believe Exist

Battle of the Oranges, Italy

Similar to La Tomatina, a festival in Spain where participants throw tomatoes at one another, this festival involves about 500,000 pounds of soaring oranges, and it takes place in the streets of Ivrea, Italy. Although, not as large as La Tomatina, it still brings in quite a crowd. The event takes place every year after Fat Tuesday (or Mardi Gras) where the locals, dressed head-to-toe in battle wear, divide up into teams where they take to the streets to throw oranges at each other (OUCH!).

Apparently, the origins of the festival are still unknown, however, many believe the citrus fruit symbolizes “the tale of the evil marquis” – a powerful story where a man’s plan to torture a young woman backfired when she decapitated him. It is said that the Battle of the Oranges represents liberation, and each year, a woman is chosen to play the “defiant young woman.”