Cantè Magg in Valpone

A spring festival reborn in the Roero

In Valpone, a small village in the municipality of Canale in the province of Cuneo, located in the rolling hills of the Piedmontese Roero, the Cantè Magg has come back to life. This ancient spring festival is deeply tied to the fertility of the land and the rebirth of nature. After decades of silence, this rural rite has been revived in a contemporary form through the efforts of local Pro Loco associations and the Ecomuseo delle Rocche del Roero, restoring one of the community's most evocative traditions.

The origins: the May quest

The Cantè Magg belongs to the great family of spring quest rites once widespread throughout the Lower Piedmont, spanning the Langhe, Monferrato, and Roero regions. Traditionally associated with the female world, it involved groups of young women traveling from farmhouse to farmhouse, singing a quest song and carrying a branch adorned with colorful ribbons—a symbolic wish for good luck and rebirth. With the arrival of May, the month when spring truly bursts forth, rural communities celebrated the lengthening days and the peak of nature's life cycle before the summer heat.

The day's program

The festival begins in the afternoon with the musical quest, which departs from Piazza Bernocco and winds through the farmhouses and scenic rural chapels of Valpone. The procession is accompanied by the Canalensis Brando and Farandolaires groups, while the public is invited to learn and sing the ancient Cantè Magg along the way.

• 4:00 PM — Departure of the spring quest with musical groups, winding through the farmhouses and chapels of the Roero
• 6:30 PM — Greasy pole, a traditional game for adults and children, with prizes placed at various heights
• From 7:30 PM — Open-air dinner in the square, featuring traditional dishes offered by the five Pro Loco associations
• In the evening — Folk dances by the Belaben group and the final propitiatory bonfire

A collective local event

The Cantè Magg in Valpone is the result of a collaboration between five local Pro Loco associations—Canale, Valpone, Castellinaldo, Cisterna d'Asti, and Santo Stefano Roero—with the scientific guidance of the Ecomuseo delle Rocche del Roero. In the evening, the square transforms into an open-air restaurant under the trees, where traditional Piedmontese music accompanies the dinner until the propitiatory bonfire, a moment when participants can symbolically entrust their wishes to the flames.

Why it's worth attending

More than just a simple festival, the Cantè Magg is an authentic immersion into the folk culture of the Roero: an opportunity to discover the vineyard-covered landscapes of Canale, experience the conviviality of rural communities, and rediscover a rite that speaks of nature, fertility, and a deep bond with the land. It is an ideal event for those who love the most genuine Piedmontese traditions.