Feast of Santa Maria della Neve and the Toro Ossequioso (with the Interregional Canto a Braccio Festival)

2025 Edition

From August 2nd to 5th, 2025, Bacugno, a hamlet of the Municipality of Posta in the province of Rieti, celebrated the Feast of Santa Maria della Neve with the full sequence of its rites. The most anticipated moment was, as always, the triple genuflection of the Toro Ossequioso on August 5th, at the end of the procession, on the churchyard of the parish church.

On the evening of August 3rd, the 38th Interregional Canto a Braccio Festival was held: on stage, Alessio Runci, Paolo Santini, Pietro De Acutis, and Dante Valentini performed for Lazio; Emilio Meliani and Niccolino Grassi for Tuscany; and Marcello Patrizi and Berardino Perilli for Abruzzo. The improvisations in ottava rima, accompanied by ciaramella and accordion, ranged from current events to themes of peasant life.

The hand-woven Manocchio, the ritual furrow traced at dawn on August 4th from Mount Boragine, and, on the afternoon and evening of the 5th, games for children, food stands with Farrecillu, and the fireworks display at the Steccato were all part of the celebration. The organization was handled by the Associazione Culturale Toro Ossequioso.