Saint Mary Festival (Patron Saint of Lagnasco)

The patronal festival of Lagnasco

In the small town of Lagnasco, in the province of Cuneo, about fifty kilometres south of Turin, the Saint Mary Festival has been the most important religious and civic event of the year for generations. The patron saint is celebrated on the Monday following Pentecost, at the end of a novena that draws hundreds of worshippers to the church, testifying to the community's strong bond with this historical and devotional tradition.

A devotion spanning centuries

The heart of the festival is the venerated wooden statue of the Madonna, kept in the Sanctuary of Saint Mary. The building stands on the edge of the village, next to the cemetery; it was erected in 1747 on the site of a previous chapel already dedicated to Saint Mary and is embellished with a 15th-century fresco of the Madonna and Child. The parish church of Saint Mary of Grace, located in the town centre behind the famous castle complex of the Tapparelli d'Azeglio marquises, is the other focal point around which the celebrations revolve.

Rites and traditions

The festival combines religious dimensions with civic memory. Alongside the processions and Holy Masses, there are moments typical of the Lagnasco tradition, such as the tribute to the fallen of all wars at the Parco della Rimembranza, with the reading of names, and the evocative blessing of vehicles. The marching band accompanies the processions and the solemn moments of the day, giving the festival that spiritual yet popular character that makes it dear to the inhabitants.

Lagnasco, the land of fine fruit

Visiting Lagnasco during the patronal festival also means discovering a village in southern Piedmont known as the land of fine fruit, nestled in the fruit-growing countryside between the Saluzzo area and the Cuneo plain, and dominated by the extraordinary castle complex of the Tapparelli d'Azeglio family. The Saint Mary Festival remains the best opportunity to capture the authentic soul of this town in the Province of Cuneo.