Festival of Saint Anne, Saint Joachim and the Holy Martyrs

An ancient devotion in the heart of the Irno Valley

The Festival of Saint Anne, Saint Joachim and the Holy Martyrs is the most anticipated event of the year in Pellezzano, a town in the province of Salerno, Campania. Organized by the San Clemente I Papa e Martire Parish together with the festival committee, it has been celebrated since time immemorial in the last week of July, around the 26th, the day the Church commemorates the parents of the Virgin Mary.

This is not just a local village feast: for centuries, Pellezzano has been a pilgrimage destination for the entire Irno Valley and the city of Salerno. Local chronicles tell of groups of pilgrims who, on July 25th, would set out barefoot or on their knees, singing hymns to the "mother of Mary" and reciting an ancient rosary dedicated to her.

The Church of San Clemente and the venerated statues

The heart of the festival is the mother church of San Clemente I Papa e Martire, whose first documentary evidence dates back to June 1138, and which became a parish church in 1532. Inside, one can find frescoes depicting the life and martyrdom of Saint Clement, canvases by Filippo Ceppaluni, and above all, the 17th-18th century wooden statues of Saint Anne, Saint Clement I, and Saint Joachim.

Beside them, the Holy Martyrs are venerated: a series of half-bust reliquaries made of wood and papier-mâché, added at the beginning of the 18th century as protectors of the community. It is from this coexistence that the full name of the festival, dedicated to Anne, Joachim, and the Holy Martyrs, originates.

Saint Anne, patroness of expectant mothers

The statue of Saint Anne in Pellezzano is the object of a very special cult linked to motherhood. Every year, pregnant women arrive from all over the province to venerate and honor her with prayers, flowers, and offerings, asking for protection for the birth and the unborn child. A specific moment of the evening program is traditionally reserved for the blessing of children and expectant mothers.

Also linked to this devotion is the Panno di Sant'Anna (Saint Anne's Cloth), the blessed fabric that the parish renews and distributes to the faithful every year, representing one of the most recognizable signs of Pellezzano's popular piety.

The days of the festival

The structure of the festivities repeats year after year, alternating moments of devotion, traditional gestures, and opportunities for relaxation and social gathering, as the parish itself recalls when presenting the program:

• Novena and Eucharistic Triduum of preparation, with preaching entrusted to a guest priest and evening adoration;
• a night of continuous adoration, traditionally announced as "a night with the Lord";
• July 26th, the Saint's day: the church opens during the night for confessions, followed by a long sequence of Eucharistic celebrations from the early hours of the morning to welcome the uninterrupted flow of pilgrims;
• the Solemn Mass presided over by a prominent celebrant from the Diocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno;
• the solemn procession with the sacred statues, accompanied by the brass band, authorities, and a large crowd of devotees.

The procession, the illuminations, and the fair

The processional pageant travels through streets and alleys, embracing the entire town, including the square where the traditional fair stalls are set up. The historic center dresses up for the occasion with illuminations and flowers on the balconies, while the climb leading to the mother church is walked at noon by hundreds of women: an image that, more than any other, tells what Saint Anne means to this community.

The secular side of the festivities, managed by the committee, develops around the religious core: music, entertainment in the square, and a charity lottery whose proceeds support parish works.

Why visit Pellezzano

Pellezzano is just a few kilometers from Salerno and is easily reached by traveling up the Irno Valley. Those who arrive during these days will find an authentic, non-touristy, and highly participatory festival, where the spiritual dimension remains clearly predominant. It is the perfect opportunity to discover a village in inland Campania that preserves the intact relationship between its mother church and the daily life of its inhabitants.