Sant'Anna Festival in Marina Grande

A festival born among the boats

In Sorrento, in the Province of Naples (Campania), the Sant'Anna Festival is not celebrated in the refined setting of Piazza Tasso, but down on the waterfront in the village of Marina Grande: colorful houses leaning against the rock, nets drying in the sun, small piers, and moored boats. It is here that a community of fishermen still lives, deeply connected to their Saint, venerated as the mother of the Virgin Mary and the protector of seafarers and expectant mothers. The liturgical feast of Saints Joachim and Anne falls on July 26th, and in Marina Grande, it becomes the culmination of several days of religious celebrations and civic festivities that involve the entire city.

The Church of Sant'Anna, the heart of the village

The focal point of the festival is the small Church of Sant'Anna, overlooking the sea and recognizable by its dome covered in yellow and green majolica tiles. The building has ancient origins: it was built by the fishermen of the San Giovanni in Fontibus confraternity and was renovated several times between the 17th and 19th centuries before being definitively dedicated to Saint Anne. Inside, a single nave with a barrel vault and a semicircular apse houses the statue of the Saint, which is carried in procession through the city streets every year.

The procession and rituals of devotion

The Saint's day begins very early: from the first light of dawn, around 5:00 AM, Eucharistic celebrations follow one another every hour in the village church, packed with faithful arriving before heading out to sea or to work. In the evening, the most solemn moment takes place: the procession departs from Marina Grande, climbs toward the historic center, and crosses the city streets with traditional stops in front of the Sorrento hospital, the Church of the Grazie, and the Basilica of Sant'Antonino, before returning to the village along the coast. Another deeply felt ritual is the blessing and distribution of handkerchiefs to expectant mothers, an ancient gesture that highlights the bond between Saint Anne and motherhood.

Lights, stalls, and seaside games

Alongside the religious dimension is the popular one, which is just as authentic. The narrow streets of the village are filled with arched illuminations in shades of yellow, green, purple, and blue, guiding visitors to the church; along the path, stalls are lined up with nougat, sweets, crepes, roasted corn, and games. On the beach, traditional games of the fishing village are organized, while roaming entertainment and the notes of the tarantella performed by local folk groups bring the rhythm of Campania into the alleys. In recent years, the "Barefoot" Sant'Anna event has been added, with mascots, baby dance, and inflatables transforming the beach into an open-air playground for children.

The grand finale: fireworks over the sea and drones

The most anticipated moment arrives late at night on the final evening of the festivities: the pyromusical show over the sea, entrusted to Pirotecnica Sorrentina, illuminates the entire gulf and is visible from the terraces of Sorrento, the viewpoints of Via Capo, and boats offshore. Since 2025, the classic fireworks have been accompanied by a luminous drone choreography, a first for the Sorrento Peninsula, which draws figures in the night sky before the fireworks begin. Thousands of residents and tourists gather on the waterfront, which is why the Municipality of Sorrento prepares a strict pedestrian and traffic management plan every year.

Why it's worth attending

The Sant'Anna Festival in Marina Grande is one of those occasions where Sorrento shows itself as it was before becoming an international tourist destination: a seaside village with its saints, its boats, and its people. Those who experience it from the inside, walking barefoot on the sand while the band accompanies the statue, understand better than any guidebook what popular devotion means in Campania.