Saint Vincent Patronal Feast and Dance of the Spadonari

An ancient festival in the heart of the Susa Valley

In Giaglione, a village perched on the sunny slopes of the Susa Valley in the province of Turin, one of the most fascinating traditions of the western Alps is renewed every year: the Saint Vincent Patronal Feast, featuring the famous Dance of the Spadonari. It is a propitiatory rite with millennial roots, passed down by the community from generation to generation as a living foundation of their identity.

Saint Vincent, protector of winemakers

The patron saint, Saint Vincent Deacon and Martyr, is celebrated on January 22nd and is the protector of winemakers, a historic profession in these terraced vineyards. The festival concludes on the Sunday of the Octave, a week later, when the ceremony is repeated. In recent years, events have been spread over several days, including cultural gatherings, book presentations, dance evenings, and religious moments in the local hamlets.

The Spadonari and the sword ritual

The heart of the festival is the Dance of the Spadonari, performed by four men wielding long, straight swords (known in the local patois as li sabro). Costumes and weapons are often passed down from father to son. The roots of the dance are traced back to Celtic and Alpine rites linked to the protection of the community and the fertility of fields and vineyards. The Spadonari dance on the church square accompanied by the Giaglione Brass Band, escorting the Saint's reliquary and the Bran—a conical trunk adorned with colorful ribbons, flowers, fruit, and wheat ears, with blessed bread at its base as a symbol of fraternal charity.

The Priore, guardians of tradition

Central figures are the Priore, women appointed by the parish priest to organize and safeguard the festival, parading in inherited shawls. Divided into pairs according to their life stage, they represent an authentic female thread of community memory, coordinating the various stages of the ceremony until the Sunday of the Octave.

Franco-Provençal culture and the Alpine setting

The festival is a treasure trove of the Franco-Provençal culture of the Susa Valley: local language, Savoyard costumes, ritual names, and traditional music intertwine during the festivities. Alongside the religious ceremony, there are evenings of Occitan, Piedmontese, and French dances, choir and band concerts, and book presentations on local history and traditions. Giaglione, with its numerous hamlets scattered along the hillside, thus becomes the stage for an intangible heritage of extraordinary value.

Why you should attend

• Witness the Dance of the Spadonari, one of the oldest rituals in the western Alps.
• Discover the Franco-Provençal culture of the Susa Valley.
• Taste typical local products during the village parade.
• Experience the authentic atmosphere of a small mountain village in the middle of winter.