Sagra Settembrina di San Nicola da Tolentino

The patronal festival of Solarolo Rainerio

The Sagra Settembrina di San Nicola da Tolentino is the most important event of the year for Solarolo Rainerio, a municipality of just under a thousand inhabitants located in the Cremona plain, along the lands of the Oglio Po. Celebrated every first Sunday of September, the sagra (festival) honours San Nicola da Tolentino, the town's patron saint, and represents the moment when the entire Solarolo community comes together.

Devotion and tradition

The religious heart of the festival is the celebrations in the parish church of Santo Stefano, rebuilt in neoclassical style and housing important works of art, including two panels by Galeazzo Campi from 1528. Around the liturgical dimension, the civil and popular aspects unfold, with moments of gathering, food stalls, and initiatives that liven up the town centre streets.

The Palio delle Contrade

The September sagra is intertwined with the Palio delle Contrade (Parish Flag Race), the historical event that characterizes the patronal festival: the procession in Renaissance costumes from the 15th-16th centuries, traditional games, and the famous donkey race between the town's districts. It is a typical combination of festivals in the Po Valley, where the sacred and the profane coexist in a single grand celebration.

A village in the Cremona plain

Solarolo Rainerio, in Lombardy, preserves the authentic atmosphere of small agricultural centres, with its 19th-century villas and the memory of peasant civilization. The Sagra Settembrina is an opportunity to discover this little-known corner of the Province of Cremona, experiencing a genuine and deeply rooted village festival.