Saint Giustino Martire Festival

The festival of Valentano's co-patron saint

The Saint Giustino Martire Festival is the main religious and popular event in Valentano, a village overlooking Lake Bolsena in the province of Viterbo, in the heart of the Tuscia region. Celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of September, it transforms the historic center for about a week into a stage for religious rites, concerts, sports, and local flavors. The Municipality of Valentano, the Pro Loco, and the Saint Giustino Committee of the year's conscripts work together to renew a tradition that has been part of the community for nearly two and a half centuries.

A history dating back to 1775

The festival's origins date back to 1775, when the remains of an unnamed Christian martyr were discovered during excavations in the Roman catacombs commissioned by Pope Pius VI. With no tombstone or inscription to reveal his identity, the Pope named him Giustino, meaning "the just." Like many cities in the Papal States, Valentano requested the honor of housing and venerating the martyr's remains. The request was granted, and after an adventurous journey, the relics arrived in the village. Initially kept at the Oratory of the Company of Death, they were placed in 1781 inside a finely decorated wooden urn beneath the high altar of the Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Evangelista, where they remain today. Chronicles from 1817 and 1840 already describe three-day celebrations featuring games, horse races, athletic competitions, hot air balloons, tombolas, and fireworks: popular devotion was so strong that for generations, many Valentano families named their children Giustino.

The religious heart: triduum, solemn mass, and procession

The liturgical aspect remains the core of the event. In the days leading up to Sunday, the triduum in honor of Saint Giustino Martire is held at the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista. On Sunday morning, a solemn mass gathers the entire community, followed by the evocative procession through the village streets with the saint's urn, accompanied by the Valentano City Concert Band. During the celebration, the traditional handover ceremony takes place between the outgoing committee and the conscripts of the following year, a ritual that renews the responsibility for the festival from one generation to the next.

The Lake Mezzano cycling rally

Among the most beloved events is the cycling rally organized by the "La Lemma" cycling group of Valentano, which reached its ninth edition in 2024. This non-competitive ride, open to everyone, starts on Sunday morning from Largo Paolo Ruffini and crosses the caldera of Lake Mezzano through country paths, woods, and single-track sections, with a refreshment stop on the lake shores and a return to Valentano through the chestnut groves. The first one hundred participants receive a race pack containing traditional local products.

A festive square: music, street food, and tombola

Surrounding the religious and sporting program is the festival in the square: street food and food stalls featuring specialties from Tuscia, dance school performances in Piazzale Diaz, evening concerts with bands and variety groups, children's shows, rides, craft markets, and the traditional Sunday afternoon tombola. The 2024 edition, dedicated to the "90s" theme, brought cover bands, DJ sets, and street bands to the square; the grand finale is entrusted each year to the fireworks display that illuminates the village sky.

Why visit

The Saint Giustino Festival is the perfect opportunity to discover Valentano away from the more beaten paths of Lazio: the village preserves the Rocca Farnese, home to the Museum of the Prehistory of Tuscia, and overlooks a landscape that stretches from Lake Bolsena to the Olpeta river valley. A late September weekend filled with faith, popular traditions, and authentic flavors of the province of Viterbo.