Celebrations in Honor of Maria SS. Assunta

The Patronal Feast of Caramanico Terme

In the heart of the Maiella National Park, the thermal village of Caramanico Terme, in the province of Pescara, dedicates its most heartfelt celebrations every mid-August to Maria SS. Assunta, the town's patron saint. Around August 14th and 15th, the village gathers around the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and the central Piazza C. Conti for two days that weave together popular faith, rural tradition, and the great Ferragosto festivities.

The Palmentieri Festival

The most iconic moment is the Palmentieri Festival, which takes place on August 14th, at the height of the harvest season. The palmentieri are round-based wicker baskets topped with a conical structure covered in pizzelle—traditional waffles cooked in honeycombed irons—and adorned with wheat stalks and laurel branches. In the afternoon, a procession of young women in traditional Caramanico costumes carries the palmentieri and bowls filled with wheat as a devout offering at the feet of the Virgin's statue. It is a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth, rooted in pre-industrial agricultural Abruzzo and passed down to this day as an authentic testament to local peasant culture.

Music and the Ballo della Pupa

Religious celebrations are accompanied by musical evenings in Piazza C. Conti, featuring ballroom orchestras, concerts, and tributes to great Italian songwriters. The festivities culminate with the unmissable Ballo della Pupa at midnight: a characteristic pyrotechnic figure that dances among the crowd, accompanied by fireworks illuminating the Maiella valley.

A Ferragosto in the Maiella Village

Experiencing the Assunta in Caramanico Terme means discovering one of the most beautiful villages in Abruzzo, famous for its thermal waters and the nature of the Maiella Park. Between processions, the scent of pizzelle, music, and bonfires, the Assunta festivities remain the summer highlight that brings the entire community together and welcomes the many visitors who flock to the town in August.