Saint Anthony Abbot Festival in San Lorenzo Nuovo

A rural festival in the heart of Tuscia

The Saint Anthony Abbot Festival is one of the most cherished traditions in San Lorenzo Nuovo, an 18th-century village in the province of Viterbo overlooking Lake Bolsena along the Via Cassia. Every year, around January 17th, the town honors the patron saint of animals and agriculture with a day that blends religious rites, popular traditions, and rural gastronomy. It is a quintessential agricultural festival of the Tuscia region, deeply felt by the community as it renews the centuries-old bond between the village and its surrounding countryside.

Fava bean soup at dawn

The most distinctive ritual begins at the first light of dawn: after the blessing, the fava bean soup—prepared the previous evening—is distributed house by house along the village streets and into the countryside. It is an ancient gesture of sharing that opens the festival day and encapsulates its spirit: the humble food of the peasant tradition offered to the entire community.

The parade of floats and the blessing of the animals

In the late morning, Piazza Europa becomes the heart of the festival with the gathering of animals and agricultural machinery. The Saint Anthony floats and mini-floats created by local schoolchildren parade through the streets, accompanied by horses and farm animals adorned with rosettes. Then comes the most anticipated moment: the blessing of the animals, which draws families with dogs, cats, and farm animals, followed by the awarding of the most beautiful floats. The day continues with the Saint Anthony lunch and, in the afternoon, a snack at the Saint Anthony hut set up in the square, featuring sweets, sandwiches, and wine from the Colli Volsini.

The Saint Anthony biscuit

The delicious symbol of the festival is the Saint Anthony biscuit, a traditional sweet prepared according to ancient family recipes and distributed to local families in exchange for a voluntary donation. This biscuit is such a core part of the local identity that the Municipality dedicates workshops and experiences to it even out of season, as seen in the "Storie in Cammino" festival, confirming how vibrant the tradition remains in the San Lorenzo community.

The Lord of Saint Anthony

As in other villages of the Viterbo Tuscia, the festival preserves a unique custom: every year a head of a family is chosen as the "Lord of Saint Anthony," who has the privilege of keeping a small statue of the saint in their home until the following year. It is an honorary role that binds the town's families to the cult of Saint Anthony and passes down the memory from generation to generation.

A community in celebration

The organization is entrusted to the local associations Pro San Lorenzo and Giovani per San Lorenzo, with the patronage of the Municipality of San Lorenzo Nuovo: a collective effort that brings the entire town to the square every winter. For those visiting northern Lazio in January, the festival is an authentic opportunity to discover the rural soul of the Tuscia region, between Lake Bolsena, fields of fava beans and potatoes, and the elegant octagonal square commissioned by Pope Pius VI.