Settefrati Emigrant Festival

A festival dedicated to those who left

The Settefrati Emigrant Festival is one of the most heartfelt events of the village's summer: a day dedicated to emigrants originally from the town and their descendants, who return to the Valle di Comino in August for their holidays and the major religious festivities. It is the moment when the community comes back together: those living abroad and those who stayed behind meet in the same squares, around the same tables, sharing memories, dialect, and traditions.

Settefrati and the emigration of the Valle di Comino

Like many towns in the Valle di Comino, Settefrati experienced significant emigration abroad between the 19th and 20th centuries. Entire families left the village in search of work, yet maintained a very strong bond with their homeland: every summer, the village repopulates with returning emigrants, and the festival dedicated to them is the official recognition of this bond. It is not just a simple village evening, but a collective ritual of belonging that the Municipality of Settefrati, in the province of Frosinone, preserves year after year.

In the heart of the Madonna di Canneto celebrations

The date is no coincidence: the Emigrant Festival takes place in the midst of the celebrations in honor of the Madonna di Canneto, the most important religious event in Settefrati and one of the most impressive in inland Lazio. On August 18, the statue of the dark Madonna is carried in a solemn procession from the parish church to the Sanctuary of the Valle di Canneto, at an altitude of over one thousand meters; in the following days, dozens of pilgrim groups arrive on foot from Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania, while on August 22, the nocturnal return procession is accompanied by fireworks that illuminate the valley. In this climate of devotion and celebration, the Emigrant's Day adds its own civil and convivial dimension.

What to expect from the festival

The heart of the event is the encounter: moments of conviviality in the historic center, music and dancing, and stories from those who left and those who returned. The Settefrati summer calendar completes the experience:

• on August 20, the day after the festival, the historic Sagna and Beans Festival organized by the Pro Loco, featuring outdoor cooking in large cauldrons and the distribution of the traditional dish;
• the central days of the Madonna di Canneto celebrations, with processions, pilgrimages, and performances;
• the summer evenings in the village, among small squares, alleys, and views over the valley.

A village to discover

Settefrati is a natural balcony overlooking the Valle di Comino, at the gates of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park: a territory of stone villages, forests, and living traditions, in the most mountainous and authentic Lazio Region. Coming to the Emigrant Festival means stepping lightly into a community that celebrates itself: a precious opportunity to understand what the word "paese" (village/home) means in Ciociaria.