Premana Rivive l'Antico

The village that goes back in time

Premana Rivive l'Antico is the great historical reenactment of Premana, a wholly mountainous municipality in the province of Lecco at the far end of the upper Valvarrone. Every two years, for an entire weekend, the hamlets and streets of the historic centre come alive with period settings, ancient trades, traditional costumes, and scenes of daily life that take visitors back to the Premana of yesteryear. It is one of the most heartfelt and widely attended events in the Lecco area, organised by the Pro Loco of Premana together with numerous local associations.

Over five hundred re-enactors

The heart of the reenactment are the over five hundred re-enactors who, in period costume, bring to life an authentic slice of the past: work is done in the forges, cooking is done with recipes of the past, embroidery is done, and traditional songs are sung. The organisational machine involves the entire community, which in the preceding months prepares the event with courses dedicated to the population - from the Premana cooking course to the, new for 2026, "point painting" embroidery course, the technique used to create the pézze, the typical embroidered bib rich in symbols and meanings of the Premana tradition.

The identity of a mountain town

Premana is famous throughout Italy for the production of knives, scissors, and blades: an iron art that has its roots in centuries past and which the reenactment proudly showcases. But Rivive l'Antico is above all an act of collective memory, a way to enhance and pass down the material and immaterial culture of a mountain community that has managed to preserve its dialect, its trades, and its traditions. Strolling through the streets during the event means entering a living museum, where every corner tells a story.

A festival prepared all year round

The biennial frequency makes each edition an eagerly awaited event, prepared months in advance by the Pro Loco and local associations. With hand-sewn costumes, meticulously detailed settings, and the choral participation of entire Premana families, the event has become a model of authentic reenactment, far from sensationalism and faithful to the historical reality of the town.