Deanery Procession of the Biancovestiti of Vallo di Lauro

The rite that opens Holy Week in the Vallo di Lauro

The deanery procession of the Biancovestiti is the event that officially marks the beginning of Holy Week in the Vallo di Lauro, the valley that borders Irpinia to the west, behind Nola. This is not a procession for a single town: it is the moment when all the deanery's Biancovestiti groups come together in a single pageant, hosted in rotation by a different municipality in the valley. In 2026, the choice fell on Moschiano, a small town in the province of Avellino, in Campania, which hosted the procession on Monday, March 30th at 6:30 PM.

Around 150 Biancovestiti from across the valley

The deanery procession includes groups from Marzano di Nola, Pago del Vallo di Lauro, Taurano, Quindici, Bosagro and Beato, Moschiano, and Lauro: in total, about 150 participants who parade together along the streets of the host town. It is the only occasion of the year when the different communities sing side-by-side, before returning to their own local routes on Good Friday. For this reason, the deanery procession has taken on a significance over the years that goes beyond devotion: it is the moment when the valley recognizes itself as a single community.

White tunics and the Via Crucis chants

The Biancovestiti wear long white tunics, with their heads covered by a cloth held in place by a crown of thorns; in some groups, women wear dark dresses with veils instead. They carry wooden crosses and symbols of the Passion, forming a circle to intone the Via Crucis chants. The lyrics are quatrains of seven-syllable verses composed in the first half of the 18th century by the Bolognese priest Luigi Antonio Locatelli, while the melodies, of Gregorian inspiration, have been passed down orally and vary slightly from town to town—a minimal difference, yet one that the inhabitants of the valley recognize immediately by ear.

An intangible heritage of the Campania Region

In 2024, the chants of the Biancovestiti of Vallo di Lauro were inscribed among the intangible assets of the Campania Region (decree no. 450 of August 5, 2024), a recognition that has given new strength to the tradition and boosted its visibility beyond local borders. Furthermore, in 2025, the Associazione Biancovestiti del Vallo di Lauro was founded, bringing together the associations of Lauro, Marzano di Nola, Moschiano, Pago del Vallo di Lauro, Quindici, and the hamlets of Bosagro and Beato, with the stated goal of uniting, protecting, and passing down the ancient rites of Holy Week.

What happens after the deanery procession

The Monday pageant is only the beginning. The heart of the week remains Good Friday: the individual groups set out at dawn and walk through the valley, visiting the Sepulchres of Pago del Vallo di Lauro, Taurano, Moschiano, Quindici, and the hamlets of Lauro, before converging in the valley's main town, where the final chant is held in front of the Carmine church. In the evening, the procession of the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows closes the day in silence. Those arriving in the Vallo for the deanery procession will find a calendar of rites that spans an entire week.

Moschiano, the 2026 host town

Moschiano is a village on the western edge of the province of Avellino, nestled against the hills that separate the Vallo di Lauro from the Nola area. Its religious heritage preserves ancient evidence of local confraternity life, starting with the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the Croce district, linked to a congregation documented as far back as the 16th century. According to tradition collected by local scholars, it was in Moschiano that the chants later spread throughout the valley were born: one more reason to follow the procession here.

Why it is worth attending

• A single pageant for seven communities: the only occasion of the year when all groups sing together.
• Orally transmitted chants protected by the Campania Region, performed without amplification along the town streets.
• A participatory and free rite, involving entire families, with nothing touristy or staged about it.
• A different location every year: those who return each year discover a new town in the Vallo di Lauro.