Pellegrinaggio alla Madonna della Neve (Voto di Biandino)

The vow of 1836

In 1836, a violent cholera epidemic was claiming victims in all the pre-Alpine valleys. On August 5th of that year, the inhabitants of Introbio, in the province of Lecco, processed up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve in Val Biandino to invoke the Virgin's protection, vowing to return every year in a procession of penance and thanksgiving if their prayer was answered. Introbio was spared from cholera, and since then, the promise has been kept without interruption.

An almost bicentennial tradition

For almost two hundred years, every August 5th, the procession to the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve has been punctually renewed. Not a single year has passed without the vow being honored: an extraordinary continuity that makes this pilgrimage one of the most deeply rooted and identity-defining events in Valsassina. The procession gathers hundreds of people – Introbio residents, Valsassina locals, and tourists – who meet on the valley's meadows to participate in the religious celebrations.

The ascent to the valley

The pilgrimage on foot begins at dawn from Introbio, after morning prayers (Lodi), and follows the path up to the sanctuary, immersed in the alpine scenery of Val Biandino. The effort of the climb is an integral part of the penitential and devotional meaning of the vow. On several occasions, the festival has been attended by the Archbishop of Milan, testifying to the importance this tradition holds even beyond the village borders.

Faith, memory, and the mountains

For Introbio and for all of Valsassina, the Voto di Biandino is much more than an anniversary: it is the living memory of a community that entrusts itself to its faith and its roots. The setting of Val Biandino, with its pastures and peaks, adds the dimension of the mountains to the spiritual one, in a pilgrimage that combines devotion, history, and landscape.