San Giuseppe Patronal Feast

A patronal feast at the foot of Monte Rosa

The San Giuseppe Patronal Feast takes place in the small and charming hamlet of San Giuseppe, part of the Alto Sermenza municipality in the Province of Vercelli (Piedmont). Nestled at an altitude of 1,113 meters in Val Sermenza, a side valley of Valsesia, the village preserves a distinctively Valsesian cultural identity, in dialogue with the nearby Walser-tradition village of Rima, with which it forms a single municipality. It is a genuine village feast, far from the major tourist events, that captures the most authentic soul of these mountains.

The Church of San Giuseppe

The heart of the celebration is the parish church of San Giuseppe, built in 1754 on the site of an older oratory. The building houses a valuable artistic heritage: frescoes by the painters Borsetti and Orgiazzi and a terracotta Ecce Homo attributed to Tabacchetti, one of the leading sculptors of the Sacro Monte di Varallo. The church, easily reached by car along the SP 10 road, welcomes the faithful for the solemn Holy Mass on the day of the feast.

Devotion and community

The day follows the traditional ritual of mountain patronal feasts: the Holy Mass celebrated in the saint's church, the procession winding through the hamlet's streets, and the auction of offerings, an ancient custom through which the community supports the parish. The feast concludes with the most convivial moment, the community lunch in the social hall, where one can taste dishes of the Valsesian cuisine prepared for the occasion.

Between Val Sermenza and Valsesia

Participating in the San Giuseppe Feast means discovering a corner of Piedmont that remains untouched, where Alpine traditions are lived with sincerity. Val Sermenza, with its forests, stone bridges over the Nonay stream, and high-altitude villages, offers visitors an authentic mountain experience, perfect to combine with a visit to Rima and the other hamlets of the Alto Sermenza municipality.