Saint Anne's Festival and Sheaves Parade

A Rite of Thanksgiving for the Wheat

In Pescolanciano, in the province of Isernia, the Saint Anne's Festival is rooted in an ancient peasant rite of thanksgiving for the wheat harvest. The tradition is particularly linked to the earthquake of July 26, 1805: the community, having survived the catastrophe, vowed to honor Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin and, in popular devotion, the protector of mothers and guarantor of the land's fertility, every year.

The Sheaves Parade

The heart of the festival is the Sheaves Parade, the 'manuocchi' (from the Latin manuculus): wheat sheaves decorated with flowers that are carried in procession in many different ways — balanced on heads using the traditional ring called spara, on carts, in baskets, or by hand. The participants wear traditional costumes and reapers' clothes, and also parade with the ancient 'traglie', the wheat sleds of peasant culture. The procession follows the statue of Saint Anne, accompanied by the band playing the hymn dedicated to the saint, and concludes at the Church of the Savior with the blessing of the wheat.

Two Days of Tradition

The parade of the 'manuocchi' takes place in the late afternoon of July 25th, while on July 26th a second procession accompanies the statue of Saint Anne. The festival, with free admission, is enriched by convivial moments related to bread and local products, in an intertwining of faith, historical memory, and agricultural culture that makes Pescolanciano an unmissable stop for those who want to discover the deepest soul of Alto Molise.