La Panarda of Villa Santo Stefano

One of the oldest festivals in the Ciociaria region

The Panarda of Villa Santo Stefano, a village in the Amaseno Valley at the foot of the Lepini Mountains, in the province of Frosinone (Lazio), has been documented in municipal archives since 1643: a resolution by the Community Council on August 2nd of that year established that "the feast of the blessed Saint Roch shall be held as usual," a sign that the tradition was already well-established. Historians trace its origins to the late 15th century, during years marked by famine and plague, when the community began distributing meals to the poor. A record from 1706 still notes the purchase of "a quarter and a half of chickpeas and two barrels of wine" for the festival: born as an act of charity for the needy, the Panarda later expanded to the entire population, supported by the offerings of the faithful.

Saint Roch, co-patron of the village

The festival falls on August 16th, the day of Saint Roch, co-patron of Villa Santo Stefano. The cult of the saint, invoked against the plague, took root in the village towards the end of the 15th century, as evidenced by the church dedicated to Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch, built in the first half of the 15th century outside the walls. It is to this link between devotion and the memory of epidemics that the Panarda owes its unique character: a ritual of thanksgiving and food sharing that has been handed down for nearly four documented centuries.

The night of the fires: the cooking ritual

The festival begins on the evening of August 15th, when the wooden statue of Saint Roch is carried in procession from the church of Saint Sebastian to the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo, in the historic center. Around midnight, in Piazza Umberto I, the ritual in 17th-century costume begins: the Princeps lights the oak wood fires under the copper cauldrons—about thirty, up to forty in more recent editions—in which several hundred kilograms of chickpeas cook slowly. The masters of the house and the attendants, the "panardari," watch over the cooking all night long; halfway through, the chickpeas are seasoned with over a hundred liters of olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. The spectacle of the fires lit in the square, amidst period costumes and the scent of rosemary, attracts visitors from all over the Ciociaria and beyond every year.

The blessing and free distribution

On August 16th, after the midday procession, the Archpriest blesses the cauldrons and the bread in front of the statue of Saint Roch. The actual distribution of the Panarda then begins: the chickpeas, accompanied by small loaves of bread, are offered for free from the churchyard to residents, outsiders, and tourists, served according to tradition in earthenware pots. Once, a town crier would invite anyone who had received a portion by mistake to return it: details that tell how much the ritual was, and still is, a pact of equity and community.

A community festival in the heart of Lazio

Surrounding the religious and gastronomic ritual, the Pro Loco Villa Santo Stefano APS, together with the Municipality of Villa Santo Stefano, organizes the traditional Panarda lottery, with the drawing held the day after the festival, and a summer calendar of concerts and evenings that has over time brought national pop music stars to Piazza Umberto I. Today, the Panarda is one of the identity-defining events of the Lazio Region and the Ciociaria: for those visiting the province of Frosinone during Ferragosto, the night of the cauldrons in Villa Santo Stefano is an unmissable appointment.