Santissima Annunziata Fair

Viareggio's patronal feast

March 25th, the day of the Annunciation, is the most significant date in the civil and religious calendar of Viareggio, the pearl of Versilia in the province of Lucca, Tuscany. On this day, the city celebrates its patron saint, the Santissima Annunziata, with a festival that has for centuries united spiritual devotion with popular tradition, bringing the streets and squares of the so-called 'Vecchia Viareggio' to life.

The 'ciottorini', a tradition born in 1755

The most distinctive element of the festival is the Fiera del Ciottorino, a tradition that local records trace back to 1755. The 'ciottorini' are small terracotta handicrafts, linked to the humble origins of the fishing community from which the city was born. The fair takes place in the historic center, in the shadow of the 16th-century Torre Matilde and in Piazza Santa Maria, where the modern edition was revived in the 1970s. Today, it is organized by the 'Rione Vecchia Viareggio' district with the support of the Municipality.

Stalls, crafts, and local products

During the festival, Via Regia is closed to traffic from Piazza Santa Maria to Piazza Nieri e Paolini, filling with stalls offering artisanal goods, gift ideas, plants, books, home decor, toys, and gastronomic specialties. In Piazza Santa Maria, next to the Torre Matilde, the Fiera del Ciottorino continues with shops, attractions, and workshops dedicated to children, in an atmosphere that recalls the city's pre-Easter origins.

The religious aspect

The spiritual heart of the festival is the solemn procession, which winds through the streets of the center starting from the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, and the solemn mass celebrated on the patronal day in the presence of civil and religious authorities. It is the moment when the Viareggio community gathers around its deepest identity.

A festival for the whole community

The Santissima Annunziata Fair is not just a religious or commercial event: it is a collective ritual that, every spring, restores the most authentic face of the Vecchia Viareggio, far from the splendor of the famous Carnival but equally defining of its identity. Children's drawing competitions, awards, and creative workshops complete a program designed to involve all generations of the Municipality of Viareggio and the entire Versilia area.