FORNACALIA. - It was a movable conceptive festival, falling in the first half of February, on a day fixed in advance by the head of the curiae, the highest decurion, in honour of the goddess Fornax, the indigitamentum of the deity who watches over the heating of the oven (Festus, s. v.). Anyone who through distraction had not been present at the festival could make up for it by taking part in the Quirinalia, which were therefore also called « stultorum feriae ».
The rite consisted in roasting, in the oven of each curia, grains of spelt before pounding them in the mortar, a circumstance that reveals the archaic character of the festival, prior to the use of the millstone. According to tradition, it was instituted by Numa.
The F. also served for the urban census before the regulations of Servio Tullo, since the sacrifice had to be performed by each person in his own curia. The relationship between the F. and the Quirinalia is explained by considering the connection linking the Flamine Quirinale with matters relating to agriculture. On the other hand, the analogy between Fornax and Vesta is evident, both being represented by fire.