Festival of the Patron Saints Sant'Egidio and San Vincenzo Ferrer

A patronal feast in the heart of the Sabina

Perched on a hill not far from Rieti, the village of Mompeo experiences its most vibrant moment on September 1st, when the community honors its two patron saints, Sant'Egidio Abate and San Vincenzo Ferrer. In a town of just a few hundred residents, the patronal feast is not just another event: it defines the village calendar, drawing back those who have moved away and filling the squares and alleys of the historic center, nestled at the foot of the castle overlooking the valley.

The mazzetta, the vigil, and the blessed bread

The ritual that everyone recognizes as the true start of the festivities is the 'uscita della mazzetta' of Sant'Egidio, the small icon of the saint carried through the village streets: from that moment on, Mompeo is officially in celebration mode. This is followed by a night vigil accompanied by a brass band, a tradition that keeps the village awake until late with marches, songs, and chatter on doorsteps.

The morning begins with the band's wake-up call through the town center, complete with firecrackers, and continues with the distribution of blessed bread, a simple and ancient gesture that blends devotion with conviviality. The day culminates with a solemn mass and a procession carrying the statues of the two patrons through the alleys, often illuminated as evening falls.

The Legend of Sant'Egidio

A significant cultural offering has recently been added to the religious and popular dimensions: the sacred play "The Legend of Sant'Egidio", written and directed by Renato Giordano and inspired by medieval texts on the saint's life. Presented in the church of Santa Maria Santissima with a cast of actors well-known to the Italian public, the work was conceived for the Jubilee celebrations and is performed every year in Mompeo on September 1st, the patron saint's day. Admission is traditionally free until capacity is reached.

Who are the two patrons?

• Sant'Egidio Abate: A hermit and monk venerated throughout Europe, his feast day falls on September 1st and he has been the village's devotional reference point for centuries.
• San Vincenzo Ferrer: A Dominican preacher of Valencian origin, joined with Sant'Egidio in the patronage of Mompeo and remembered alongside him during the festival rites.

The village and the Sabina region

Mompeo is part of the Sabina, a corner of Lazio in the province of Rieti characterized by olive-covered hills, Romanesque parish churches, and stone villages overlooking the Tiber valley. The village retains a compact medieval layout clustered around the baronial palace and the parish church, and the festival is the best opportunity to discover it: during the patronal days, doors open, people eat together, and local cuisine — homemade pasta, grilled meats, and Sabina DOP extra virgin olive oil — accompanies every convivial moment.

Why it's worth the trip

It is not a massive food festival for thousands of visitors, and for that very reason, it preserves an authenticity lost elsewhere: here, the band plays for its own neighbors, the bread is distributed by hand, and the procession passes under the windows of the very families who prepared it. Visitors will find a genuine celebration, not a tourist reconstruction, in one of the quietest and least-traveled areas of Lazio.