San Donato Fair

A fair steeped in history

The San Donato Fair has its roots in the centuries-old tradition of San Donato Val di Comino, the last town in the Ciociaria region perched high on the border with Abruzzo, in the valley named after the ancient Cominium. Chronicles collected by the Archeoclub of the Comino Valley, which republished a famous page by Luigi Alonzi dedicated to this very fair, paint a vivid picture of the event in times past: the smell of pans on the fire, the bustle of the stalls, the shouts of vendors selling slaughtered castrato lamb, fried fish, watermelons, and all sorts of trinkets, while street performers, accompanied by accordions, sang religious ballads in honor of the saints.

The fair was above all a great meeting point for the youth of the valley: from Vicalvi, Montattico, Casalvieri, Alvito, and Atina, people would travel up to San Donato for the patron saint's feast, and women would show off their traditional costumes with the characteristic headpiece known as uommacìle, one of the symbols of the popular identity of the Comino Valley.

The fair today: stalls along Viale Marconi

Today, the San Donato Fair is a commercial market event held in mid-August along Viale Marconi, the main artery that hosts many of the summer events in San Donato. In the official 2025 summer calendar, the fair was scheduled for Monday, August 11th, and Tuesday, August 12th, immediately following the patronal feast days: two days of stalls where the village fills with visitors from across the valley and nearby towns in the Ciociaria region.

It is an event distinct from the religious feast itself, yet deeply connected to it: the fair originated as a market linked to the patron saint's celebrations, following a model common throughout inland Italy, where religious recurrences were also the occasion for the town's major annual market.

In the heart of summer in San Donato

The fair is part of a particularly rich August for the town. The Municipality of San Donato Val di Comino, together with the Pro Loco and local associations, promotes a busy summer calendar of concerts, shows, urban trekking, and family activities every year. The most anticipated moment remains the patronal feast of Saint Donatus Bishop and Martyr, celebrated around August 6th, 7th, and 8th with processions, band concerts, and fireworks, while at the end of the month, the feast of Saint Constantia enlivens the alleys with the traditional fair of pots and onions. In this mosaic of traditions, the San Donato Fair represents the market and popular soul of the village's summer.

San Donato Val di Comino and the Comino Valley

San Donato Val di Comino is one of the most picturesque villages in the province of Frosinone, in southeastern Lazio: a stone-built historic center perched at an altitude of about 700 meters, serving as a gateway to the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. The Comino Valley, a land of historic emigration, finds its extended community reunited in August, when those from San Donato living abroad return to the village for the festivities: the fair has always been their meeting point, a collective ritual that combines commerce, memory, and a sense of belonging.