Saint Michael the Archangel Festival

A patronal festival that embodies the village's memory

Perched on the hill overlooking the countryside northeast of Rome, the historic village of Montecelio — an ancient center within the municipality of Guidonia Montecelio, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio — transforms every late September into the stage for the Saint Michael the Archangel Festival. The liturgical feast of the Archangel falls on September 29th, and the Montecelio community traditionally celebrates it on the last Sunday of the month, with a program spanning three or four days across the alleys, squares, and churches of the historic center.

From the cavallari festivals to Saint Michael

The roots of the event are older than its current title. Originally, September was dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot: it was the time when agricultural work paused before the grape harvest, and the cavallari — the horse-riding farmers — along with the fossanti, the workers from the travertine quarries that brought economic prosperity to this area, would offer wine and doughnuts to the faithful. When the Church moved Saint Anthony's feast to January 17th, the community did not want to give up its autumn celebration: they dedicated it to Saint Michael the Archangel, inheriting the entire procession and customs. This is why the festival must be in September — an outdoor parade would be unthinkable in the winter months.

The Vunnelle: a heritage passed down

The heart of the festival is the Vunnelle parade on Sunday morning. The vunnella (literally "little skirt") is the ancient festive dress of the women of Montecelio: a bodice and skirt made of fine fabrics, gold embroidery, apron, shawl, and headgear. These are not stage costumes but authentic garments, jealously guarded in homes and passed down from mother to daughter for generations. About two hundred and fifty women parade, joined by the Butteri, the horse-herders of the Roman countryside, wearing their vintage work attire. The beauty of the vunnella struck Vittorio De Sica so much that the director included it in a scene of the film Anna of Brooklyn, starring Gina Lollobrigida.

The typical program

The festival combines religious and popular dimensions, following a structure that repeats with few variations:

• Triduum and solemn masses in the village churches, with the procession on the last Sunday accompanied by the marching band;
• Parade of the Vunnelle and the Butteri through the streets of the historic center on Sunday morning;
• Festival and tastings: the traditional Montecelio pasta e fagioli served in the square, accompanied by wines from the Castelli;
• Evening shows in the square: concerts, cabaret, theater in the local Montecelio dialect, and dance groups;
• Charity raffle, card tournaments, traditional games, and activities for children;
• Photo exhibitions, guided tours of the civic museum, and walks through the village;
• Fireworks to close the festivities.

The "by class" committee

A unique feature of Montecelio concerns the organization: the festival is entrusted each year to a committee of peers, the "Class" of a specific birth year, who take on the burden of raising funds, setting up stands, and composing the program. A rotation mechanism that has involved practically every family in the village over the years, explaining the widespread participation of the population. The work of the committees is usually supported by local associations, the ACLI, and the Vunnelle and Butteri group, under the patronage of the Municipality of Guidonia Montecelio.

What to see around the festival

A visit to the village is worth the trip even beyond the event: the Fortress, the "Rodolfo Lanciani" Civic Archaeological Museum, the Saint Francis convent with its Franciscan frescoes, and the panorama that embraces the Roman countryside from the hill all the way to Tivoli and the Cornicolani Mountains. Montecelio is about forty kilometers from Rome and a few kilometers from Tivoli, making it easy to combine the festival with a day between Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa.