La Barabbata (Feast of the Madonna del Monte / Feast of the Passate)

One of the oldest folk festivals in Lazio

La Barabbata, which the locals prefer to call the Feast of the Madonna del Monte or the Feast of the Passate, is celebrated every year on May 14th in the town of Marta, in the province of Viterbo, in northern Lazio. Overlooking the southern shore of Lake Bolsena, this village of fishermen and farmers transforms for twenty-four hours into an open-air ritual theater, where Marian devotion intertwines with ancient agricultural traditions.

The first written record dates back to a municipal council report from 1557, kept in the historical archive of Marta, which states that "Friday is the feast of the Madonna del Monte," indicating that the event was already well-established. Scholars trace its core procession back to the 9th century, recognizing a layering of spring fertility rites and harvest thanksgiving, linked to deities of abundance (Maia, Ceres, Feronia) and later Christianized under the sign of the Virgin.

The four categories: casenghi, bifolchi, villani, and fishermen

The heart of the festival is the ascent to the sanctuary by the four historical categories of Marta's workforce, each with its own attire, tools, and place in the procession:

• Casenghi — estate managers and supervisors, who parade on horseback in traditional clothing with antique tools;
• Bifolchi — plowmen and shepherds, accompanied by oxen and field work implements;
• Villani — farmhands, divided into sowers, hoe-men, reapers, and mowers, who carry decorated carts called «Fontane», true vegetable architectures laden with fruits, flowers, and wheat ears;
• Pescatori — fishermen, admitted to the festival in 1608, who display their lake catch and traditional boats.

Each category brings the offering of their labor to the Madonna: this symbolic exchange between the community and the divine gives meaning to the entire day.

The ritual of the «Passate»

The name Feast of the Passate comes from the culminating moment: after the solemn mass, the participants perform three ritual laps — the «passate» — inside the sanctuary, receiving traditional ciambelloni cakes. It is a gesture repeated from generation to generation, which the people of Marta cherish as a sign of identity. The festival was recognized in 2009 under the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and is regularly covered by national television.

How the day unfolds

The eve of May 13th opens with the traditional fair on the lakefront and continues in the afternoon with the candle procession from the Collegiate Church to the sanctuary for the first vespers. May 14th begins at 4:30 AM, when fireworks, festive bells, and the beat of the drum wake the town; at dawn, the groups gather on the lakefront with their carts and «Fontane», and at 9:15 AM, the historical procession departs toward the mountain. After the mass and the passate, the afternoon brings the procession back to the square for the blessing, while in the evening, fireworks over the lake conclude one of the longest and most heartfelt days of the year.

What to see in Marta

Visitors arriving for La Barabbata will find a fishing village dominated by the Clock Tower, with its small harbor, lakefront, and narrow streets winding down to the water. The sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte stands on the hill behind the town, offering a sweeping view of Lake Bolsena and the Bisentina and Martana islands. Local cuisine revolves around lake fish — whitefish, eel, silverside — and products from the Viterbo hinterland, from extra virgin olive oil to the legumes of the Alta Tuscia.