Saint Martin's Festival

The Saint Martin's Festival in Palazzo Adriano

Every year on November 11th, the town of Palazzo Adriano—a small Arbëreshë village nestled in the Sicani Mountains within the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily—celebrates the Saint Martin's Festival, also known as the festival of family and solidarity. It is a unique religious tradition of Balkan origin that survives today only in Palazzo Adriano, one of the island's historic Italo-Albanian colonies. The tradition is deeply rooted in the town's Greek-Albanian culture and focuses on newlyweds, specifically couples who have married within the past year.

The ritual of the newlyweds and the children's parade

The heart of the festival is a gesture of collective solidarity: relatives, friends, and the entire community help the young couples set up their new homes. On the morning of November 11th, children parade through the village streets carrying the characteristic canestri dei sammartini—wicker baskets and trays adorned with finely embroidered tablecloths, flowers, fresh fruit, sweets, and gifts. Typical products offered to the newlyweds include dried figs, chestnuts, panuzzi di San Martino (Saint Martin's buns), buccellato, and marzipan fruit (frutta di martorana). In the afternoon and evening, friends and family visit the homes of the newlyweds to admire the sammartini displays.

The 'pitta' and traditional symbols

Historically, the groom's family would gift u quadaruni, a large copper pot, while the bride's family offered a brascera, a copper brazier—objects rich in meaning related to family roles. Today, the municipal administration and the local Pro Loco association present the newlyweds with the pitta, a circular, crown-shaped bread decorated with molds depicting religious, philosophical, and family symbols of Arbëreshë origin, serving as a wish for a long and happy married life.

A village to discover

The Saint Martin's Festival is also an opportunity to discover Palazzo Adriano, famous as the filming location for Cinema Paradiso. The village guards a dual identity—Latin and Byzantine—visible in the charming Piazza Umberto I with its two churches. The program organized by the Municipality and the Pro Loco includes guided tours of the historic center and the Arbëreshë museums (free of charge), itinerant tastings of local products, special menus in local restaurants, and nature excursions to the Reserve and the famous Pietra di Salomone. The event, supported by local associations and groups dedicated to preserving Arbëreshë culture, is sponsored by the Sicilian Region and the Ministry of Culture, highlighting its importance to the identity of the Province of Palermo and all of Sicily.