San Giovanni Bosco and San Giovanni Battista Festival (Gavignano Sabino)

A local festival in the heart of Sabina

Gavignano Sabino is a small village in the Municipality of Forano, in the province of Rieti, overlooking the hills of the Sabina region in northern Lazio. Here, every year at the end of summer, the community gathers for the celebrations in honor of San Giovanni Bosco and San Giovanni Battista: a festival that blends religious devotion with conviviality, following a model common throughout the Sabina area, yet one that retains a particularly intimate, family-like atmosphere in Gavignano.

Devotion and tradition

The dual dedication of the festival is typical of small rural communities, where the historical patron saint coexists with more recent devotions. San Giovanni Battista (John the Baptist), the precursor, is one of the most venerated figures in Christianity and lends his name to dozens of Sabina churches; San Giovanni Bosco, the 19th-century Piedmontese priest and father of the oratory, is instead linked to youth and popular education. The Gavignano festival celebrates them together with a solemn mass and a procession through the village streets, accompanied by the local marching band: Gavignano Sabino has long hosted a musical association that is an integral part of the village's identity.

What happens in the square

The beating heart of the event is Piazza degli Eroi. On festival evenings, food stalls generally open around 7:00 PM, offering Sabina cuisine and traditional festival specialties; the square's bars stay open until late, and the program continues with live music from around 10:00 PM. Recent editions have featured various tribute bands—including one dedicated to the repertoire of Renato Zero—and themed nights with DJ sets playing 90s music, which are highly popular with young people from neighboring towns.

• Afternoon: entertainment and games for children
• Evening: opening of food stalls in the square
• Late evening: concerts, tribute bands, and DJ sets until night
• Liturgical day: solemn mass and procession with the band

Gavignano Sabino and the Forano area

Forano is a town of just over three thousand inhabitants in the Tiber Valley, with ancient origins: the area was inhabited by the Sabines as early as the Bronze Age and later fell under the influence of the Abbey of Farfa before becoming a free municipality in 1262. The village preserves the Palazzo Savelli-Strozzi and historic churches such as the Church of the Most Holy Trinity and that of San Sebastiano, the patron saint of the main town, celebrated on January 20th. The village of Gavignano Sabino, with its monthly fair on the third Sunday and its summer festivals, represents the rural soul of the territory.

Flavors of Sabina

Visitors arriving for the festival cannot ignore the area's gastronomic vocation: the Sabina region is famous for its DOP extra virgin olive oil, one of the oldest in Italy, which is present in almost all local dishes. Pomegranates are also grown in Forano, and the traditional acquacotta—a rustic dish made with vegetables and eggs—is still prepared. In the municipal calendar, the Saints Giovanni celebrations join other beloved events, such as the Pasta Festival in mid-August, which has already surpassed its sixtieth edition.

Why it's worth visiting

This is not a massive event with thousands of spectators, and that is precisely its charm: here you can breathe the authentic atmosphere of a Lazio village festival, with free entry, shared tables, the band marching through the streets, and music playing as long as there are people in the square. For those visiting the Sabina region in summer, it is a simple yet precious opportunity to meet the local community.