Bread Exchange – Ascension Feast

The Bread Exchange: a pact of friendship between two alpine communities

The Bread Exchange is one of the oldest and most evocative traditions in the upper Valsesia. Every year, on Ascension Day, the village of Rimella — located in the Municipality of Rimella, in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont — welcomes the inhabitants of nearby Fobello to celebrate a ritual of mutual solidarity that has been passed down for centuries between the two Valmastallone communities.

The origin: between legend and history

The precise origins of this custom are lost in time. One legend tells that, during a particularly harsh winter, the community of Rimella ran out of supplies and the inhabitants of Fobello helped them survive the famine; the following year, it was the people of Fobello who found themselves in difficulty, and the people of Rimella returned the favor. Another, more plausible version traces the tradition back to a peace treaty signed between the shepherds of the two neighboring towns after an ancient dispute: to seal the reconciliation, they decided to exchange blessed bread twice a year.

How it works

The festival opens with the celebration of Holy Mass in the parish church of San Michele Arcangelo, in the Chiesa hamlet of Rimella, followed by the traditional procession. At the end, the most awaited moment takes place: the distribution of blessed bread to the inhabitants of Fobello who have arrived in the village. For the occasion, the women and men of both communities wear typical traditional Walser costumes, a living testament to the Germanic culture that shaped these high-mountain villages.

The mirror ritual of Pentecost

The exchange is not one-way: on Ascension Day, the people of Fobello travel up to Rimella to receive the blessed bread, while on Pentecost Sunday, it is the people of Rimella who travel to Fobello, where the same gesture of friendship is renewed. Two events that, one week apart, tell the story of a unique bond of brotherhood in the Piedmontese Alps.

Rimella, the oldest Walser settlement in Valsesia

Rimella is considered the oldest Walser inhabited center in Valsesia: German-speaking settlers arrived here in the Middle Ages from the Rhône valley, bringing with them architecture, costumes, and a Germanic dialect (the tittschu) that is still protected today. In this context, the Bread Exchange takes on a deep identity value, intertwining Christian faith, rural memory, and community spirit.