Saint Blaise Patronal Festival (Solemn Procession and Feast of the Raising of the Cross)

A devotion that spans the entire year

In Giuliano di Roma, a town in the province of Frosinone in the heart of the Lazio Ciociaria region, the figure of Saint Blaise is not tied to a single calendar day. The bishop and martyr of Sebaste, a physician before he was a shepherd, is celebrated here twice: once in the dead of winter and again at the end of summer. This double recurrence illustrates how popular devotion in the villages of southern Lazio has layered over the centuries, intertwining liturgy, family memory, and village life.

February 3rd: The oil and the blessing of the throat

The first date is the canonical one from the liturgical calendar. On February 3rd, the community gathers in the church for the blessing of Saint Blaise's oil, with which the priest anoints the throats of the faithful: an ancient gesture linked to the hagiographic episode of the child saved by the saint while choking on a fish bone. In Giuliano, tradition also dictates that the blessed oil be taken to the homes of the sick and those unable to reach the church, a sign of a religiosity that cares for the village door-to-door. It is a more intimate celebration compared to the summer one, but for many locals, it remains the most personal.

The last Sunday of August: The solemn procession

The main festival, which fills the streets, takes place on the last Sunday of August. According to local tradition, the summer recurrence was born to commemorate the consecration of the Saint Blaise chapel, which took place on the last Sunday of August in 1739. Since then, the central moment has been the solemn procession: the statue of the saint leaves the church and is carried on shoulders through the village streets, among the stone houses of the historic center, accompanied by the clergy, confraternities, and a procession of the faithful that stretches into the early evening hours.

The procession is surrounded by the usual atmosphere of Ciociaria patronal festivals: solemn liturgical celebrations, illuminations on the main streets, musical moments in the square, and social evenings that, during a week when the village population peaks thanks to the return of emigrants and vacationers, become the most anticipated community event of the year.

The Feast of the Raising of the Cross, a 2025 innovation

In 2025, the parish priest Father Luigi Vitali decided to add a new celebration to the patronal festivities: the Feast of the Raising of the Cross. At its center is the iron cross that stands out on the highest point of Mount Siserno, the mountain that embraces the village. That cross originally stood near the elementary schools and was torn down to make room for a private building; in 1973, a group of about twenty local volunteers carried it by hand to the summit, where it still stands today. The Fochisti Giglianisi group, the same one that manages the traditional Christmas bonfire, restored it to its former glory with extensive restoration work.

On August 30, 2025, on the sidelines of the procession, a public meeting was held in Piazza Borgo Vittorio Emanuele to reconstruct that history, featuring the names and testimonies of the protagonists collected in research by Antonio Luzi and Cataldo Torella. A festival with a distinctly spiritual and identity-focused approach, made of history, faith, and belonging, destined to be repeated in the following years.

The village and its landscape

Giuliano di Roma stretches along a ridge on the slopes of the Lepini Mountains, in a position that dominates the Amaseno Valley. The historic center retains its medieval layout, with narrow alleys, arches, and stairways that suddenly open onto wide panoramas towards the plains. Mount Siserno, with its hiking trails and the cross at the summit, is the natural destination for those who want to combine the festival with a walk; the village is also crossed by the Cammino della Regina Camilla, a walking route that connects the villages in the area.

For those visiting Lazio off the beaten path, attending the end-of-August procession in Giuliano di Roma means encountering an authentic Ciociaria, where the patronal festival is not a tourist reconstruction but the moment when an entire community recognizes itself.