Saint Faustinus Patronal Feast

The Patron Saint of Pontedera

The Saint Faustinus Patronal Feast is the quintessential identity-defining event for Pontedera, a city in the Valdera area of the province of Pisa, in the heart of Tuscany. It is celebrated every year on the second Thursday of October, a day when the entire community pays homage to the saint who has accompanied city life for over two centuries.

A centuries-old history

The relics of Saint Faustinus, a young martyr who likely lived in the 3rd century, arrived in Pontedera from Rome in 1660 and were welcomed with a solemn procession by the Confraternity of the Bianchi. On May 28, 1801, the people and clergy of Pontedera, with the approval of the Archbishop of Pisa, elected him the city's patron saint. The saint's remains still rest today in the right transept of the Cathedral of Pontedera, near the altar of the Madonna of Pompeii.

Until 1968, the feast fell in August, but since the city would empty out for summer holidays, it was decided to move the celebrations to the second Thursday of October, when schools and businesses resume and Pontedera is once again bustling.

The week of celebrations

The religious aspect is the heart of the feast. In the days leading up to the patronal day, the triduum takes place at the Cathedral, with evening masses presided over by bishops and monsignors invited for the occasion. On the day of the feast, the Archbishop of Pisa presides over the solemn concelebration, preceded by a procession starting from the Town Hall. In the following days, a mass is held in memory of the city's deceased, followed by a mass for world peace.

The itinerant Saint Faustinus and the water procession

In recent years, the feast has been enriched by the Itinerant Saint Faustinus initiative: the saint's relic is taken on a pilgrimage to the various parishes of the city's districts and hamlets—from Romito to San Giuseppe, from Sacro Cuore to Santa Lucia and Madonna dei Braccini—to bring the figure of the patron saint closer to every neighborhood. The procession on the water is particularly evocative: the saint is transported by boat along the Arno to Molo Arnera, before continuing in a pageant toward the Cathedral.

A month of events for the city

Surrounding the religious celebrations, Pontedera hosts an entire month of secular appointments. Over fifty local associations organize cultural, musical, and sporting initiatives, including the Volunteering Festival along Corso Matteotti, which brings together the city's various associations. The feast thus becomes an occasion for gathering that unites devotion, popular tradition, and community life, confirming its status as the most beloved event for the people of Pontedera.