Fojonco
Emilia-Romagna · The Po plain and the northern Apennines
Apennines between the Secchia and the Panaro, provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena
Fojonco — nocturnal bird of prey with three legs, a thief of hens, lazier than a dormouse; it is said to breed only during vertical-shock earthquakes and to have an unbridled passion for Lambrusco.
- Variants and dialect names
- Fojonco, Foglionco, fujonch
- What is told
- Nocturnal bird of prey with three legs, a thief of hens, lazier than a dormouse; it is said to breed only during vertical-shock earthquakes and to have an unbridled passion for Lambrusco.
- What it was forthe author’s reading
- Joke animal: it serves to make fun of the outsider by sending him hunting a beast that does not exist. The canonical prank is to leave a bottle outside the door and find it empty in the morning — the animal is the drinker's alibi.
- Where it is attested
- Only blogs and local newspapers. In 2003 the Cantine Riunite announced a competition promising a lifetime supply of wine to whoever photographed it. There is an «Amici del Fojonco» association with an annual festival.
- Caution
- It is not Piedmontese, as one often reads, and it is largely folklore of return. The authentic dialect core seems to be limited to the name of a mustelid; the comic bestiary is of recent formation, with a very strong component of wine marketing. I keep it here precisely as an exemplary case of contemporary pseudo-tradition.
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