Varallino Festival

A Marian festival in the heart of the Lower Novara area

The Varallino Festival is the most cherished event of the year for the community of Galliate, a populous town in the Province of Novara overlooking the Ticino valley in Piedmont. The festival revolves around the Varallino Sanctuary and celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a fixed recurrence on September 8th. Around this date, ten days of festivities unfold, blending religious, popular, and gastronomic dimensions in a balance that has lasted for generations.

The Varallino Sanctuary

The sanctuary, originally an ancient country church dedicated to Saint Peter in Vulpiate, owes its origins to a modest chapel built in the Middle Ages not far from the town, towards the Ticino river. In the 16th century, it became a center of intense Marian devotion thanks to a fresco of the Blessed Virgin with the Child, which was considered miraculous. The building was reconstructed between the late 16th and mid-18th centuries, while the majestic eclectic facade, designed by the local architect Ercole Marietti, was completed in 1894. Inside, the central-plan structure is dominated by a large elliptical vault from 1675 and features ten side chapels, fully frescoed and populated by about sixty life-sized statues: a unique sacred mountain of the plains that depicts the Mysteries of the Rosary, Joy, Sorrow, and Glory.

The religious program

The spiritual aspect begins with the novena, recited every evening with the Holy Rosary in the days leading up to the solemnity. September 8th, the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the heart of the festival: in the morning, a solemn Eucharistic concelebration is held, accompanied by the Santa Cecilia Choir, during which the ordination anniversaries of local priests are also commemorated. It is a deeply identity-forming event for the parish of Galliate.

Popular tradition and gastronomy

Alongside devotion, the Varallino Festival has a lively popular soul. The funfair returns to the sanctuary square every year, while the charity raffle raises funds for the restoration of the town's churches. The evenings are enlivened by town band concerts, featuring the Verde Azzurra Band of Galliate and guest ensembles. However, the true gastronomic draw is the Folliconi stand, joined by the Yellow Tent and the Pesci Gobbi association's sandwich shop, where one can enjoy traditional Novara dishes: paniscia, mushroom risotto, tripe, snails, duck, braised beef, and the essential salamelle sausages.

Why it's worth visiting

• One of the most deeply rooted Marian festivals in the Lower Novara area, with centuries of history.
• A visit to a unique sanctuary, a true frescoed sacred mountain of the plains.
• Traditional Novara cuisine served at the Folliconi stands.
• An authentic village atmosphere, between faith, brass bands, and the funfair.