Colma d'autunno

A festival born from the mountains

Colma d'autunno is the autumn chapter of La Notte del Re di Biss, a festival of music, stories, and nature that brings the Municipality of Civiasco to life—a tiny village overlooking the Valsesia valley in the province of Vercelli (Piedmont). Conceived and directed by Vercelli-born singer-songwriter Carlotta Sillano and organized by the Pro Loco of Civiasco, the festival takes its name from the Re di Biss (King of Snakes), the legendary creature of Alpine folk bestiaries: a crested serpent inhabiting the depths of the mountains, which has become the poetic symbol of an event capable of weaving together myth, landscape, and contemporary art.

Colma d'autunno: the third act of the 2026 cycle

In 2026, the festival is structured into three moments following the rhythm of the seasons: Leggiadrissima Eterna Primavera in May, the great Notte del Re di Biss in August, and finally Colma d'autunno, scheduled for Sunday, October 11, 2026. The 2026 season is titled «el ventre de la montagna» (the belly of the mountain) and explores impossible peaks, the earth's cavities, and the deep spaces of the imagination, where "the further you go, the darker it gets."

Colma d'autunno is the moment when this journey into the bowels of the mountain concludes, accompanied by the colors and oblique light of the cold season. It is a day designed for walking, listening, and pausing, in constant dialogue with the woods and the village of Civiasco.

Music, words, and nature in the village

Like the other events in the cycle, Colma d'autunno blends different languages: concerts, meetings, narratives, sound experiences, performances, and walks through the village streets and surrounding trails. Previous editions of La Notte del Re di Biss have hosted nationally and internationally renowned artists—from the world of singer-songwriters to poetry and theater—confirming the festival's vocation for bringing high-quality culture to an intimate and authentic mountain setting.

A small village in the Valsesia

Civiasco is a village of a few hundred inhabitants nestled along the road that leads from the Valsesia valley to the Sacro Monte of Varallo, with an architectural heritage marked by historical migrations to Spain. It is in this intimate setting, made of stone, chestnut trees, and silence, that Colma d'autunno finds its truest dimension: not a large mass event, but a widespread and participatory experience, tailored for those seeking a slow and poetic autumn at the foot of the Piedmontese Alps.