The Sopa de Verges is the community meal held on Shrove Tuesday, before Lent. The cauldrons, fires and public serving make shared work visible. It belongs to the local festive calendar but is distinct from the Easter Monday rice meal and the Procession groups’ dinners. See also: Holy Week.
Origin stories and early evidence
Serrà presents the explanation linking the Sopa to the barons and harvest surpluses as a legend (p. 55). It is an origin story, not a foundation record or proof dating the celebration to the fourteenth or fifteenth century.
The Verges heritage guide (pp. 18–19) dates Miquel Corsaví’s drawing to between 1348 and 1402 and treats it as possible early evidence of the meal. It does not establish when the celebration began. See also: people of Verges.
Preparations: A Village-Wide Effort
Serrà describes preparations in the period of 1996 (pp. 56–57). Her account follows collection, cooking and serving, but its quantities, times and division of work should not be turned into an unchanging programme:
- Firewood: Serrà’s account begins with collecting wood in the forest and the meal shared by those taking part.
- La Passada: contributions were collected house to house on Sunday. Serrà describes a shift from donations mainly in kind to chiefly financial contributions.
- Cooking and serving: in the period described, cooking began at seven at the rec del Molí washhouses. The cauldrons were then carried to the Plaça Major to serve the meal.
The heritage guide dates the move of cooking to the Plaça Major from 2014. This explains the difference from Serrà’s account. Exact times depend on each edition’s programme.
The Recipe: What’s in the Sopa de Verges?
The recipe recorded by Serrà in 1998 is an escudella barrejada, a mixed Catalan soup. The recipe published by Serrà in 1998 includes pulses, potatoes, rice, pasta and several meats, alongside sagí and seasonings. She explains that knowledge passed on through working with the previous cook, and that she recorded the recipe with the cook’s permission. This transmission is part of its heritage value, beyond the ingredients alone.
Gatherings of Historical Soups
The Sopa also takes part in gatherings of historical soups and stews. The municipal council records Verges’s participation in the XII gathering at Gelida on 22 and 23 November 2025. This is a dated example of exchange between groups, not UNESCO recognition.
The Bridge to Maundy Thursday
The Sopa closes Carnival and precedes Lent, whereas the Procession takes place on Maundy Thursday. They share community involvement but are different celebrations. The Generalitat’s Cultural Agenda announced the serving of the 2026 Sopa on 17 February at 2 pm. This does not confirm the timetable of a future edition. See also: Maundy Thursday Procession.
Calendar and each edition’s programme
The calculated date is Shrove Tuesday. It is a calendar reference and does not itself confirm the events, times, prices or services of a future edition.
Sources and versions
Màriam Serrà, Verges i la processó que no es veu (1998), pp. 54–60. Verges heritage guide, pp. 18–21; municipal announcement of the XII gathering (2025); Generalitat Cultural Agenda, 2026 edition.
