San Bernardo Fair

A festival that welcomes summer at the foot of Monte Rosa

The San Bernardo Fair is the event that has officially inaugurated the summer season in Macugnaga for nearly forty years. This stunning Walser village lies at the foot of the east face of Monte Rosa, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province of Upper Piedmont. Every first weekend of July, the streets of the Staffa district fill with stalls, the scent of rye bread, and the sounds of Alpine choirs, in a celebration that combines devotion to the mountain's patron saint with the promotion of traditional artisan crafts.

The Walser soul of the event

The fair is organized by the Walser Community Committee of Macugnaga, guardian of a unique culture: the Walser are people of Germanic origin who, starting in the Middle Ages, colonized the high slopes of the Rosa, creating a linguistic, architectural, and artisanal heritage that remains vibrant today. During the fair, Walser groups parade in traditional attire and bring the squares to life, while the Titsch dialect and ancient construction techniques are highlighted in dedicated conferences and exhibitions.

What to find at the fair

The heart of the event is the Alpine and Walser craft market, featuring over fifty stalls winding through Via Imseng, Piazza Municipio, and Via Chiesa Vecchia. Among the stalls, you can admire and purchase:

• wood and stone sculptures;
• ceramics, embroidery, and textiles;
• woven baskets and flowers;
• wrought iron objects and traditional mountain work tools.

A spectacle within the spectacle is the famous Extemporaneous Wood Carving Competition dedicated to the Old Linden Tree of Macugnaga: sculptors are given a linden log, and under the eyes of visitors, the artwork takes shape throughout the event, culminating in the final awards ceremony.

Between faith and tradition

Sunday is dedicated to the religious aspect: the solemn Holy Mass, the procession of the statue of San Bernardo through the village streets led by Alpine Guides, and the evocative blessing of mountain tools under the Old Linden Tree, a secular symbol of the community. A heartfelt moment that recalls the deep bond between the inhabitants of Macugnaga and their mountain.