Crocione di Ampinana Festival

A tradition revived on the hill of Ampinana

The Crocione di Ampinana Festival is a small, touching celebration that every spring draws the inhabitants of the Municipality of Vicchio, in the heart of the Mugello, to the hill overlooking the hamlet of Ampinana. Here, where the mighty fortress of the Conti Guidi stood in the Middle Ages, now rises the Crocione, a large reinforced concrete cross that has become a symbol of the community and its faith. Born in 2024 from a desire to revive a forgotten tradition, the festival is promoted by the Gruppo Tabernacoli di Vicchio, an association of volunteers dedicated to the restoration and care of the area's small sacred monuments.

The history: from the fortress of the Conti Guidi to the Crocione

The hill of Ampinana holds centuries of history. The medieval fortress, a possession of the Ghibelline branch of the Conti Guidi, was long a stronghold hostile to the Florentine Republic, until Florence purchased it in 1291 for three thousand florins and razed it to its foundations. On a Sunday in 1901, right where the ancient fortress once stood, a first wooden cross dedicated to Jesus Christ the Redeemer was blessed and inaugurated, only to be lost over time.

On May 26, 1960, Ascension Day, to celebrate the arrival of electricity in the small community of Ampinana, Father Francesco Parigi, parish priest of the church of San Michele, and the teacher Carlo Alessi inaugurated the new Crocione in reinforced concrete. A plaque commemorates its meaning with the words: «May God's blessing from up here reach all of the Mugello». After decades of neglect, in 2024, volunteers restored the monument and placed a new plaque, rekindling a precious memory for the entire Province of Florence.

The festival today

The celebration takes place in the late afternoon with participants gathering on the hill. The central moment is the blessing of the Cross, officiated by the parish priest of Vicchio, accompanied by a prayer for the Crocione and the entire Mugello region. At the end of the brief ceremony, the organizers offer a convivial snack, an opportunity for meeting and sharing among residents, hikers, and curious visitors.

• Blessing of the Crocione officiated by the parish priest of Vicchio
• Community prayer for the Mugello
• Convivial snack at the end of the ceremony
• Panoramic views over the Mugello valley

A community gathering in the Mugello

The Crocione Festival is not a spectacular event, but a gesture of affection for one's land and history. Reaching the hill on foot, through the fields and woods of the Apennine Tuscany, is part of the experience: the climb leads to one of the most evocative viewpoints in the territory of Vicchio, the birthplace of Beato Angelico and Giotto. For lovers of slow tourism and authentic traditions, it is an opportunity to discover a little-known corner of the Mugello.