Pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Snows (Vow of 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, went in procession to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Snows in Val Biandino to invoke the protection of the Virgin, making a vow 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 Bicentenial Tradition

For almost two hundred years, every August 5th, the procession to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Snows 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—inhabitants of Introbio, people from Valsassina, and tourists—who meet on the valley's meadows to participate in the religious celebrations.

The Ascent to the Valley

The walking pilgrimage starts at dawn from Introbio, after the Lauds, and follows the path towards 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 feast has seen the presence of the Archbishop of Milan, testifying to the importance that this tradition still holds beyond the village's borders.

Faith, Memory, and the Mountains

For Introbio and for the entire Valsassina, the Vow of 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.