Jamie's pasta making competition with the Mamas from Le Marche is part of a well-loved tradition in Italy. The English have their village fêtes, with tombolas and coconut shies. In Italy, the locals get together to celebrate their local foods at a sagra.

Thousands of sagre take place around Italy to celebrate a particular food or wine from that area, In Le Marche, the region where Jamie visited the Sagre de Mercatello, nearly every town and village has at least one festival during the summer.