Festival of Maria Santissima del Suffragio – Festa dei Manoppi

A festival born from harvest rituals

The Festival of Maria Santissima del Suffragio, known to all as the Festa dei Manoppi, is the most deeply felt religious celebration for the people of Colonnella, a stunning village in the Val Vibrata valley overlooking the Teramo countryside, in the province of Teramo, Abruzzo. The festival traditionally takes place on the second Sunday of July, during the time when threshing once concluded: it is a celebration that blends Marian devotion with thanksgiving for the land's bounty.

Its origins date back to the custom of the town's major landowners—families such as the Volpi, Barnabei, Catenacci, Crescenzi, and Flaiani—who contributed in kind to the needs of the festival and the parish. At the heart of it all is the Confraternity of Maria Santissima del Suffragio, founded in 1740, which still preserves and organizes the event today.

The 'carrate' and the white oxen

The most spectacular moment of the day is the parade of carrate: ancient agricultural carts, pulled by white oxen adorned for the occasion, featuring sacred-themed sculptures and intricate compositions made from wheat sheaves. In the morning, accompanied by the sound of firecrackers, the brass band and folk groups in traditional costume escort the carts through the village streets.

The carts are crowned by the manoppi (or manocchi), the bundles of wheat that the community offers to the Madonna instead of money, in a clear tribute to the land and its fruits. In the past, landowners competed to create the most beautiful cart to win prizes; this custom, which almost disappeared after the 1950s, has been revived in recent times with new formats.

The procession and the historic threshing

After the solemn mass in the mother church, the characteristic procession takes place: the confreres carry the large gilded throne with the statue of the Virgin on their shoulders through the town streets, followed by the band, folk groups, and the faithful. In the afternoon, the re-enactment of the ancient threshing is held, bringing back to life the gestures and tools of the Abruzzo farming civilization.

The day concludes in the evening with musical performances in the square and the traditional, thunderous fireworks display that illuminates the sky above the village.

A village in the hills of Val Vibrata

Colonnella is part of the Union of Val Vibrata Municipalities, at the extreme northern border of Abruzzo, and preserves a compact and scenic historic center. The Festa dei Manoppi is the perfect opportunity to discover the town, its rural identity, and its confraternal tradition, in a festival that in recent years has also hosted events of national importance related to the world of Italian confraternities.