The inhabitants of Zozzeto bear
the unjustified reputation of poorly taking care of their personal
hygiene and of that of the places, and that's why many tourists
avoid to visit the village, fearing for their own health. Actually
the cases of food intoxications don't affect more than 78% of
the guests, while the parasitic infestations are some more widespread,
not arousing anyway a real worry.
The rustic hospitality of the zozzetans does not include many
refinements and formalities and a frank conviviality gladdens
the traditional festivities, when tourists and natives share dishes,
glasses, forks, knives, spoons and even the sheets.
What to see
The Entomological Civic Museum of
Zozzeto shelters the most complete collection of parasitic insects
ever gathered in the world. In particular the armoured caveau
placed in the cellar shelters the more precious pieces, like a
crab-louse belonged to Cristopher Columbus,
the gad-flies of the Alexander the Great's
horse, some (very spoiled) lice of
Count Ugolino and his sons, the Napoleon's dog ticks
and the first tiger mosquito ever introduced in Europe. The museum
is on the point of purchasing a horsefly
coming from the Shuttle Endeavour and a flea
which belonged to Yurij Gagarin.
The contemporary art installations
that enliven the streets make the visit of the village an unique
and unforgettable experience.
Festivities and
popular traditions
The saint patron of Zozzeto
is Saint Luridana, who decided to keep
herself virgin to follow her vocation, even if it seems that her
halitosis made her task easier. She was martyrized in the year
290 by the pagans that dipped her in a soap-suds basin; in memory
of the event in Zozzeto, derogating the traditional liturgy, it's
used to celebrate the so-called "dry baptism".
During the patronal festivity, in proximity of the area in which
pig-farms lie, the traditional mud wrestling
contests take place, being performed in a peculiar way, since
the fluid in the pools is not properly definable as "mud".
Moreover in the village the traditional "Clostridium Festival"
is carried out in summer, and culminates in a contest between
the best oil preserves.
Gastronomy
The restaurants of Zozzeto provide for low prices the local specialties,
among which the most appreciated is the baked
salmonella, who boasts several people being sick for it, but
also the Listeria fillet with white
wine are so good that you could die for them.
Amongst the cheeses we can mention the "Brucellina",
a fresh cheese made of non-pasteurized milk, which is awaiting
for the Protected Designation of Origin, and the cheese
with worms renowned for its peculiarity to serve by itself
on the table.
The typical zozzetese sweet is the botulinum
tiramisù, avalaible even in the fly-free version.
Entertainment
The most widespread leisure in Zozzeto are the bobsled
races, which are disputed on appropriate tracks traced on the
landfills near the village; the zozzetan athletes often win medals
in the international competitions of this sport.
The most daring ones instead devote themselves to the chiropody,
that when performed on Zozzeto inhabitants
can be considered as an extreme sport.
Welcome
The hotel rooms are comfortable, though they are lacking of useless
fineries, like the bathroom: every room is provided with a practical
and traditional chamber-pot, to be emptied,
every time it's needed, pouring it out of the window. Moreover
the guests aren't bothered by the noises of room cleaning, which
is made just on February 29th.
Fauna
The local salmonella population boasts
specimens of such a size that can be classified among the Vertebrata,
some of them have a tattoo and a collar.
The house-flies displacements, due to their size and density,
are regulated by a special control tower in order to avoid collisions;
for the same reason some areas of the village are also interdict
to the birds' flight, except for seagulls.
The rats in Zozzeto are so numerous that they asked and obtained
the right to vote; one of them was appointed
as councilior responsible for municipal cleansing service, deliberating
the abolition of dumpsters and the undertake to lay the garbage
down on the edge of the road.
How to get there
To reach Zozzeto by car it takes a certain care while driving,
because of the greased asphalt layer covering the roads, that's
why it's advisable to use the public transports, like the train,
after appropriate preventive vaccinations against the more important
infectious diseases.
The Zozzeto city council doesn't provide a real bus service, but
the truck used for the garbage collection (waste
collection vehicle) is also used as a bus, at the end of the
collection service, and sometimes during the same service. It
must consider that in the morning hours the frequency of the buses
can be reduced since the truck works also as a school-bus and
hearse.
page
created: May
9th 2008 and last updated: June 7th 2009