Sabbia Carnival

The Sabbia Carnival, a village festival in the upper Valsesia

The Sabbia Carnival is the traditional carnival of the small hamlet of Sabbia, a mountain village in Valsesia belonging to the municipality of Cravagliana, in the province of Vercelli, in the heart of the Alpine Piedmont. Far from the large allegorical floats and the crowds of the valley's more famous carnivals, such as those in Varallo and Borgosesia, this is an authentic village carnival: it is born from the desire of a community of a few hundred inhabitants to gather around their masks and shared tables during the coldest months of winter.

A carnival of conviviality and tradition

The organization is entrusted to the Sabbia Carnival Committee, which manages the calendar of events and the official presentation of the masks for each edition every year. The common thread of the festival is not a spectacular parade, but conviviality: the evenings and lunches in the local inns and taverns are the true heart of the event, where recipes from the Valsesian cuisine provide the backdrop for the community to reconnect.

• The Boiled Meat Dinner (Cena del Bollito) — the opening event that kicks off the carnival season, during which the year's masks are officially presented.
• The Paniccia Lunch (Pranzo della Paniccia) — a gastronomic moment linked to the Valsesian tradition of paniccia, the iconic dish of carnivals throughout the valley.
• The Lottery Dinner and Farewell to the Masks — the closing evening featuring a lottery and the final farewell to the masks that starred in the edition.

Sabbia and the Valsesian Carnival

The hamlet of Sabbia is part of the rich landscape of carnivals in the Valsesia valley, one of the areas in Piedmont most faithful to its winter traditions. The paniccia, the presence of local masks, and the strong community roots are elements shared with the valley's historic carnivals, but in Sabbia, everything revolves around the intimate and familiar scale of the village. It is the ideal occasion for those seeking a genuine carnival, made of locals, mountains, and good food, far from mass tourism circuits.

When it takes place

The events of the Sabbia Carnival are spread between January and the beginning of spring, following the calendar of the Valsesia Carnival, which traditionally begins in early January and concludes with the Mercu Scûrot in Borgosesia. Reservations with the Committee are always required to attend dinners and lunches.