Campocavallo Wheat Sheaf Festival

A rural tradition lasting since 1939

The Wheat Sheaf Festival is one of the most deeply rooted and heartfelt popular events in the Marche region. It takes place in Campocavallo, a hamlet of the Municipality of Osimo, in the Province of Ancona, around the large Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Sorrows. It all began on August 13, 1939, when the elderly farmer Clemente Ciavattini, along with his five children and the farmhands from the neighbourhood, conceived a float made entirely of wheat ears to offer to the Madonna. Since then, the festival has been repeated every year, preserving the deep bond between Marche rural civilization and popular faith intact.

The Covo, a masterpiece of rural art

The heart of the festival is the Covo: a true monument to wheat, composed of two or three million ears of wheat expertly woven by the "masters of the Covo". Each year, the artwork reproduces a different subject — almost always a sacred building, from the local sanctuary to the great pilgrimage sites of the world. It is an offering of thanks for the prosperity of the harvests, the result of months of patient and collective work. The Covi from past editions are preserved in a dedicated museum, a living testament to artisanal knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

How the festival unfolds

The celebrations begin during the weekdays, usually from the Wednesday preceding the first Sunday of August, in a large green area of Campocavallo. The program includes:

• Dialect comedies performed by local acting troupes;
• Folk shows with songs and dances by traditional groups;
• Cultural evenings dedicated to the history of the festival and the local area;
• Evocative torchlight processions that connect places of faith;
• Popular games and card tournaments, live music, dancing, and food and wine stalls with the flavours of Marche tradition.

The Sunday of the Covo

The final day is entirely dedicated to the Covo. In the morning, a solemn Mass is celebrated, often presided over by the Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo, followed by the awarding of the Golden Sheaf and recognition for the Masters of the Covo. In the late afternoon, the most anticipated moment arrives: the new Covo is unveiled to the crowd and carried in a solemn procession through the streets of the hamlet, accompanied by the Covi from previous editions, civil and religious authorities, confraternities, folk groups, and the village children who symbolically carry bundles of wheat ears as gifts. The ceremony concludes with the Eucharistic Blessing.

Between faith and rural civilization

More than just a simple festival, the Campocavallo Wheat Sheaf Festival is a celebration of identity for the Osimo area and the entire Province of Ancona. It unites Marian devotion, rural memory, and community celebration in a unique experience in the Marche, capable of attracting a large popular turnout every year.