Sagra di San Lorenzo

The patron saint's festival of Arzago d'Adda

The Sagra di San Lorenzo is the patronal festival of Arzago d'Adda, a town in the Bergamo plains overlooking the Adda river, in the province of Bergamo. It is celebrated on August 10th, the feast day of San Lorenzo, or on the closest Sunday, and is one of the most cherished and ancient events in the area.

A tradition dating back to 1677

The feature that makes this festival unique is the distribution of bread and chickpea soup, a tradition rooted in 1677. In that year, the nobleman Giovan Battista Cattaneo de Capitani donated land and assets to the Santa Maria di Treviglio Hospital, on the condition that every year, on the feast day of San Lorenzo, two loaves of bread and a bowl of chickpea soup would be distributed to the families of Arzago. After the hospital ceased its operations, the Municipality revived the tradition in 1980, keeping it alive to this day.

Between devotion and community

The day combines the age-old gesture of charity with religious celebrations:

• two Sunday masses in the morning
• the solemn evening mass with the singing of the Schola Cantorum
• the procession with the statue of San Lorenzo through the town streets

The distribution of bread and chickpeas takes place at tables set up near the town hall, attracting residents and visitors from neighboring towns, in an atmosphere of celebration and sharing that renews the identity of Arzago d'Adda.