Sant'Anna Festival at Cascina di Spedaletto

Where the four valleys meet

At the most evocative point of the Apennines between the provinces of Prato and Pistoia, where the Bisenzio, Agna, Bure, and Limentra valleys seem to touch, stands Cascina di Spedaletto, now the Visitor Center of the Acquerino Cantagallo Nature Reserve. It is here, at an altitude of approximately 900 meters in the municipality of Cantagallo, in the heart of Tuscany, that the Sant'Anna Festival comes to life every summer—one of the most heartfelt and well-attended historical re-enactments in the Prato mountains.

A tradition rooted in the Middle Ages

The festival stems from an ancient custom dating back to the Middle Ages, a period of great commercial fervor between the settlements of the Prato and Pistoia Apennines. For centuries, valley residents would meet at Spedaletto to trade goods, socialize, and enjoy themselves, wearing their finest clothes and using the local wine as an excuse to challenge one another in games and musical rhymes. It was not uncommon for these spirited days to end with a friendly scuffle: hence the popular nickname Festa dei Cazzotti, by which the event is still affectionately remembered today.

The ritual of the pilgrimage

The heart of the event is the collective walk to the Cascina. Early in the morning, between 8:00 and 8:30 AM, five different groups of hikers, accompanied by environmental guides, set off to reach Spedaletto by following ancient mountain paths. The starting points are the villages of Migliana, Luogomano, Tobbiana, Val di Bure, and Monachino, just as it happened in the past when hundreds of people would converge on foot from all the surrounding towns.

A day of celebration

Once the Cascina is reached, the day comes alive with the traditional Mass celebrated in the meadows of the Reserve. Following this, the atmosphere of the past is brought back to life through a rich program of entertainment:

• Traditional and folk games in the meadows;
• Stalls and markets featuring local produce and handicrafts;
• Music and dancing with the Claudio Cesaroni group;
• Religious celebrations and convivial outdoor moments.

In the afternoon, participants head back down to the valley accompanied by the environmental guides, concluding a day that blends hiking, popular faith, tradition, and nature.

An inclusive festival

The Sant'Anna Festival has made accessibility a core value: thanks to the joëlette chairs provided by volunteers, people with disabilities can also participate in the hikes and reach the Cascina, fully experiencing the mountain and the festival.

A collective effort

The re-enactment is the result of collaboration between numerous local entities: the Val Bisenzio Tourism Development Association, the Passione Natura Biobiettivi association, the L'Acqua association, the Pro Loco of Migliana, and the Quattro PassiOne association, with the support of the Cassa di Risparmio di Prato Foundation and the Regional Council of Tuscany. A shared commitment that keeps one of the most beautiful traditions of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines alive.