Tredicina and Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua

Avetrana's most beloved festival

The Tredicina and Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua is the most attended religious and popular event in Avetrana, a small town in western Salento, located in the province of Taranto at the southern tip of Puglia. As the name suggests, the festivities unfold over the tredicina, the thirteen days leading up to and accompanying June 13th, the liturgical day of the Saint of Padua, one of the most venerated figures in Southern Italy.

Faith and devotion

The spiritual heart of the festival is marked each evening by the recitation of the Rosary and Holy Mass, with homilies delivered by Franciscan friars. The celebrations are organized by the Saint Anthony Parish in collaboration with the Pastoral Unit of Avetrana, with the support of the Municipality and the local community. Each evening is dedicated to a specific blessing: for families, couples, the sick, children, and expectant mothers. The most solemn moment arrives on the eve of the feast, when the Mass in the square is presided over by the Bishop and followed by a procession carrying the statue of the saint through the town streets.

June 13th: The Ballata dei Cavalli

The highlight of the event is June 13th, featuring one of the most characteristic rites of the Avetrana tradition: the blessing of the wheat wagons pulled by festively adorned horses and the Ballata dei Cavalli (Dance of the Horses), which reenacts the famous Miracle of the Beast attributed to Saint Anthony. The wagons, laden with wheat ears donated by the faithful, parade through the town center accompanied by artistic illuminations, testifying to the deep bond between the festival and the ancient rural civilization of Salento.

Entertainment, food festivals, and music

Alongside the religious rites, the tredicina offers a rich secular program in Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the town center: traditional dialect theater performances, food festivals featuring local specialties (sausage, panzerotto, and fritters), evenings of Salento pizzica music, the pole-climbing game, magic shows for children, and brass band concerts. The grand finale on June 13th combines a band concert, spectacular dancing fountains, and fireworks that light up the sky over Avetrana.

A community heritage

A defining moment for the entire town, the festival also includes charitable initiatives and the awarding of honors to those who have distinguished themselves through their commitment to the community. For the people of Avetrana, wherever they may reside, June 13th is an opportunity to return home and gather around their patron saint in one of the most authentic traditions of Puglia.