San Lorenzo Festival - Chambons

A patronal feast in the heart of the Chisone Valley

The San Lorenzo Festival is celebrated every year on August 10th in Chambons, one of the lower hamlets of the municipality of Fenestrelle, in the upper Chisone Valley (Province of Turin, Piedmont). It is the patronal feast of this small mountain community, dedicated to Saint Lawrence the Martyr and linked for generations to the traditional date of the saint, which coincides with the famous August shooting stars.

Organized by the Pro Loco of Fenestrelle together with the municipality, the festival is a heartfelt event that fills the streets and spaces of the hamlet for an entire day, overlooking the valley side just a few kilometers from the famous Fenestrelle Fortress.

The Bal da Sabre, the Occitan soul of the festival

The most iconic moment of the day is the performance of the Bal da Sabre, the "sword dance" which, in the Occitan language, represents one of the oldest folkloric traditions of the Chisone Valley. The dancers, accompanied by the rhythm of a drum, perform evolutions and figures with swords, while the Ragazze in Costume group performs the mazurka and the courenta, traditional dances of the Piedmontese Occitan culture. It is a heritage that has led Fenestrelle to perform abroad over the decades.

Mass, blessed bread, and the fair

The religious aspect remains the heart of the festival: the Holy Mass, in some editions presided over by the Bishop of Pinerolo, is accompanied by the Bal da Sabre and followed by the traditional distribution of blessed bread and refreshments for all attendees. A fair with market stalls also takes place throughout the hamlet, while the program is enriched by cultural meetings and evening shows.

Chambons and Fenestrelle

Chambons is a historic hamlet of Fenestrelle, once part of the abolished municipality of Mentoulles. Visiting the festival is also an opportunity to discover an authentic corner of the Chisone and Germanasca Valleys, a land of Occitan culture, mountain trails, and the imposing fortress that has made Fenestrelle the "City of Forts." The festival is included in the municipal summer calendar "E…state con noi," which enlivens the village and its hamlets throughout the summer season.