Madonna del Sabato Festival

A village festival at the foot of the Valle Cervo

The Madonna del Sabato Festival is one of the most cherished events in Sagliano Micca, a town of just over a thousand inhabitants nestled at the entrance to the Valle Cervo, in the province of Biella, at the foot of the Piedmontese Alps. It is not a large-scale festival with billboards and ticket offices, but a popular and religious feast that has marked the village's spring for generations, centered around Marian devotion and the parish of Saints Giacomo and Stefano.

Faith and community over two days

The festival traditionally takes place over a weekend in early May. Saturday evening opens with a quiet, well-attended Holy Mass, an intimate moment of prayer for the community. Sunday is the highlight: the solemn procession winds through the village streets accompanied by the marching band, while the parish choir brings the celebrations to life with its hymns.

After the services, the festival turns into a social gathering: the community lunch brings together residents, families, and guests around long tables, amidst toasts, smiles, and shared stories. It is the moment when, as the municipal administration has highlighted, the event reveals itself above all as "a moment of belonging," capable of bringing different generations together and strengthening the sense of community.

Sagliano Micca, land of Pietro Micca

Visiting Sagliano Micca during the festival is also an opportunity to discover a village rich in history. The town is famous for being the birthplace of Pietro Micca, the Piedmontese hero of the 1706 Siege of Turin, commemorated by a monument in the main square. The parish church of Saints Giacomo and Stefano, dating back to the 17th century, houses valuable works of art, including a wooden statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Nearby, one can find the Oratory of Saints Fabiano and Sebastiano, an ancient "sanctuary of the valley shepherds," and the octagonal Oratory of the Holy Trinity, located near the Ponte della Trinità.

Why it is worth attending

• An authentic festival, far from mass tourism, in the heart of an alpine village in the Biella area.
• The procession with the band and the parish choir's singing through the village streets.
• The community lunch, an opportunity to experience Piedmontese conviviality.
• The chance to combine the visit with the sites of Pietro Micca and the historic oratories of the Valle Cervo.