Festa della Basilica

A village festival around a Romanesque monument

The Festa della Basilica — often also announced as Vizzolo in Festa — is the main community event in Vizzolo Predabissi, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Milan, southeast of the Lombard capital. It takes place in autumn, around the feast day of the patron saint (Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7th), and transforms the town center and the festival area into a large meeting space.

The Basilica of Santa Maria in Calvenzano

The symbolic heart of the festival is the Basilica of Santa Maria in Calvenzano, founded at the end of the 11th century by Cluniac Benedictine monks and considered one of the most important proto-Romanesque monuments in the Milanese area. The portal preserves a Romanesque sculptural cycle from the Como school, dated to the first half of the 12th century, with scenes from the Infancy of Jesus. During the festival, the basilica is often open for guided tours, accompanied by sacred music concerts.

The village program

Promoted by the Pro Loco of Vizzolo Predabissi together with the Municipality and local associations, the event typically offers:

• guided tours of the basilica and walks through nature and history;
• artisan markets and stalls in the town center;
• gastronomic areas and association stands;
• dance shows, entertainment, and activities for children;
• initiatives and events spread over the two days of the weekend, including in recent years a Color Run along the town's streets.

It is a time when volunteering and the desire to be together become protagonists, and an opportunity to discover a monument of national importance in the heart of the province of Milan.