Saint Venanzio Patronal Feast

A patronal festival in the mountains of the Stura Valley

The Saint Venanzio Patronal Feast is the most cherished spring event in Valloriate, a tiny municipality of just over two hundred inhabitants nestled in the lower Stura Valley, in the province of Cuneo, in the heart of southwestern Piedmont. Along with Saint Michael the Archangel, celebrated in late September, San Venanzio is one of the town's two patron saints. The mid-May festival dedicated to him marks the beginning of the pleasant season and the awakening of community life after the mountain winter.

Religious rites and folk tradition

The heart of the festival remains deeply rooted in popular devotion. The program includes Holy Mass in the 17th-century parish church of San Michele Arcangelo, a Baroque building erected in 1680, followed by the traditional procession through the village streets, accompanied by the gathered community. Surrounding these liturgical moments are civil celebrations, featuring music, entertainment, and the inevitable conviviality that has always characterized the festivals and patronal feasts of Alpine villages.

The community banquet

As per tradition, the festival is also a major gastronomic event: the community gathers for a community dinner which, in recent editions, has offered convivial dishes designed to welcome guests and friends. It is an opportunity to taste the flavors of the Piedmontese mountains and share a table among locals, vacationers, and passing visitors.

Valloriate and the 'Paesi Futuri' project

The San Venanzio festivities are part of the broader Paesi Futuri project, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, which brings together the municipalities of the lower Stura Valley to enhance small villages through events, festivals, and traditions, countering the depopulation of the highlands. The festival is also a moment of encounter with the French town of Hyères in Provence, twinned with Valloriate: a bridge between the two communities that celebrates transalpine friendship.

A village to discover

Visiting Valloriate during the patronal festival also means discovering a territory of rare beauty: the village, of pre-Celtic origins as the toponym valouria suggests, is scattered across about forty hamlets lying at the foot of the Tairé peak, along the road leading to the Colle della Maddalena, an ancient pass between Italy and France. Between ancient bridges, 16th-century towers, and mountain trails, the San Venanzio festival is the ideal occasion to experience the authentic hospitality of a small town in the Stura Valley.