The patron saint feasts of the Nebrodi, month by month
Thirty-three barefoot hooded penitents carrying a crucifix, two giants dancing through a village square, devotees running bare-chested in January. In the Nebrodi they celebrate twelve months a year: the full calendar, and the four not to miss.
Twelve months, not just August
Tourism here lasts three months; the feasts last twelve. In the Nebrodi villages — forty minutes from Capo d'Orlando at most — there is no week of the year without a saint being carried through the streets, and the most striking of them fall in winter, when there isn't a tourist in sight. Below: the four great ones, then the full calendar.
The four great ones
19-21 August · San Calogero, San Salvatore di Fitalia. Tens of thousands of pilgrims in a village of a few hundred people. The peak is the 20th: the statue is released from its niche by ropes and rudders and performs the three rises and falls, vanishing and reappearing before the crowd. In the evening, the Salva di San Caloriu. The 21st is the village's own feast, with the viaggi. On the same days, at Cesarò, another San Calogero with the weighing of the children.
1 September · San Cono, Naso. Listed in Sicily's Register of Intangible Heritage. The litter leaves amid firecrackers and showers of calia, the bearers shouting «Na vuci viva: razzia San Cono!» as far as Bazia. Triduum from 29 August, octave in Bazia on 7-8 September.
7-8 September · The Black Madonna of Tindari. On the headland above the Marinello lagoons, Nigra sum sed formosa. Procession on the evening of the 7th, Pontifical mass on the 8th. Many arrive on foot, walking up to ten hours.
22 October · Maria Santissima, Capo d'Orlando. Ours. Since 1598, when a pilgrim — recognised as Saint Cono of Naso — left the statue in the castle courtyard. At dawn the stream of people up the 230 steps, at midday the descent from the mount, in the afternoon the procession, and around it hundreds of stalls and fireworks over the seafront.
26-28 August · Saint Vincent Ferrer, Castell'Umberto
Twenty minutes from here, and one of the most deeply felt feasts in the area. Castell'Umberto has been devoted to Saint Vincent Ferrer — the saint of miracles — since the fifteenth century, and preparation begins a month ahead: from 26 July the bells ring out morning, noon and evening. On 22 August the image is placed on the litter. On the 26th the three days open, with many devotees arriving barefoot from the surrounding hamlets; on the 27th the radicula, the relic, is carried out in a glass case by men, women and — for a short stretch — the village children. On the 28th the litter, dressed in gold and in the little bells donated by the faithful, crosses the whole village while the bearers take turns to the cry of «E gridamu tutti cu na sula vuci: Viva San Vicenzu!». Then the fireworks, in the square.
23-26 August · The Three Saints, Galati Mamertino
Twenty-five minutes up the Fitalia valley, and this is the feast where the village doubles in size. Galati's Three Saints are Saint Roch, the Holy Crucifix and Saint James, the patron, and the four days work like a story. On the 23rd Saint Roch's statue is carried in the evening from the Chiesa del Rosario to the Mother Church. On the 24th Saint Roch and Saint James go out in procession. The 25th is the day: mass is celebrated in the church of Santa Caterina and then the Crucifix by Fra' Umile da Petralia — which tradition says was finished by divine hands — is crowned and set on a litter dressed with ears of wheat, in thanks for the harvest. In the evening comes the procession of the reunion: the three figures meet and «dance» through the narrow lanes while the Crucifix is pulled along by the devotees' cords. On the 26th the Saints leave the village as far as 'o Cummentu, the old site of the Annunziata convent, and that evening return one by one to their own churches. It's the feast when everyone who lives far away comes home, and you can tell.
Winter: the most striking of all
January. On the 2nd, Saint Basil the Great in the Galati Mamertino hamlet of the same name. On the 5th, the Salami Fair at Sant'Angelo di Brolo, devoted to Sicily's only IGP cured meat. On the 17th, Saint Anthony Abbot at San Marco d'Alunzio; from the 17th to the 20th, Saint Sebastian at Mistretta and at Tortorici, where devotees run bare-chested in the depths of January — they're called i nudi. On the 27th, at San Fratello, Saint Benedict the Moor.
February. Candlemas on the 2nd and Saint Blaise on the 3rd at Militello Rosmarino; on 5 February, at San Salvatore di Fitalia, the penitential procession of San Calogero: no band, no firecrackers, only silence — with the feast the following Sunday. Saint Leo at Longi on the 20th.
March. On the 5th, two villages thank their patron for the same earthquake, that of 1823: San Cono at Naso and Saint Vincent at Castell'Umberto. Saint Joseph at Sant'Agata di Militello on the 19th, the Annunciation at Alcara Li Fusi on the 25th and, on the coast, Maria SS. Annunziata, patron of Brolo.
The last Friday of March: the Babbaluti
If you were to choose one winter feast, this. At San Marco d'Alunzio — twenty minutes away, one of Italy's most beautiful villages — on the last Friday of March the Holy Crucifix of Aracoeli is carried out on the shoulders of thirty-three hooded, barefoot penitents dressed in blue: the Babbaluti, thirty-three like the years of Christ, men and women who carry it by vow. The origins are lost. If that Friday falls in Holy Week, the feast moves earlier.
Easter: the most intense week of the year
At San Fratello, from Holy Wednesday to Good Friday, the Festa dei Giudei: one of Sicily's strangest rites, with costumed figures in red and trumpets taking over the village. At Longi, the procession of the Apostles on Palm Sunday and the penitential procession on Maundy Thursday. On Good Friday the procession of the Cross in every village, and at Easter the meeting between the risen Christ and his Mother. Dates follow the liturgical calendar and change each year.
Spring and summer
April. On the 4th, Saint Benedict the Moor at Acquedolci. On the 4th and 5th, at Castell'Umberto, the liturgical feast of Saint Vincent, with the stop at the Serro di San Vincenzo to bless the countryside with the relics (if it falls at Easter, it moves by a few days). Saint Mark at San Marco d'Alunzio on the 25th; the historic fair at Sant'Agata di Militello mid-month.
May. Celebrations at Raccuia on the 1st; Saint Nicholas at Alcara Li Fusi from the 3rd to the 5th; the Holy Crucifix at Caronia on the 4th; Saint Leo at Longi on the first Sunday; Saint Sebastian at Tortorici on the 9th; the Feast of the Three Saints at San Fratello on the 10th — the one where the relics of the three martyred brothers were found on the mountain top, spreading the cult across half of eastern Sicily.
June. In the first half of the month, Saint Antoninus at Galati Mamertino.
24 June · the Muzzuni. At Alcara Li Fusi, for Saint John's day, the rite of the Muzzuni: a neckless jug dressed with ears of wheat and veils, displayed in the alleys — a feast rooted in pre-Christian agrarian rites, celebrated today with singing and dancing across the village.
July. On the 24th and 25th, Saint James the Apostle, patron of Galati Mamertino, with processions of the relics and the statue; the same saint at Capizzi on the 26th; Saint Mark and Saint Nicholas at San Marco d'Alunzio on the 31st.
August. On the first Sunday, Saint Basil in the Galati hamlet, the litter dressed with basil stalks and sheaves of wheat. On the 13th the Festa di Rafa, again at Galati. On the 15th the Madonna di Porto Salvo here in Capo d'Orlando, with the procession by sea on the fishermen's boats; Saint Sebastian at Mistretta on the 18th; the Crucifix at Longi on the 23rd.
Autumn: the giants and the fair
7-8 September · Mistretta, the Madonna della Luce with the abballu di Gesanti: two papier-mâché giants, Kronos and Mytia, dancing through the streets before the statue. Same dates as Tindari — and if you must choose, they are two different worlds.
On the second Sunday, San Calogero at Galati Mamertino; the Holy Crucifix at Caronia on the 14th; the Madonna della Catena at San Marco d'Alunzio on the 25th; Saint Michael the Archangel on the 29th at Raccuia and above all at Sant'Angelo di Brolo, where the cult goes back to the Normans: legend has it the Archangel appeared to Roger d'Altavilla and held the sun still until the enemy was defeated, and the count raised a votive chapel to him.
October, besides our own patron: at San Fratello, the fair of the Sanfratellano horse, a native Nebrodi breed.
November. On the 14th and 15th the historic livestock fair at Sant'Agata di Militello, as old as it sounds.
December. Saint Nicholas at Capizzi on the 6th, the Immaculate Conception at Raccuia on the 9th; and for the Christmas novena, at San Marco d'Alunzio, the Cantata di li pastura. On 28 December, again, San Cono at Naso and Saint Vincent at Castell'Umberto, in memory of the Messina earthquake of 1908: the same two villages, the same gratitude, eighty-five years after the other one.
How to behave at a patron saint feast
Shoulders covered inside churches, even in August. During the procession, stay to the sides: the middle belongs to the bearers, and the litter is heavy. Photographs are fine; planting yourself in front of it is not. If someone offers you something — calia, a sweet, a glass — take it. And the firecrackers are loud and give no warning: worth knowing if you have small children or a dog.
Before you set off, ask
This calendar draws on local sources, but dates move: some follow the liturgical calendar, others are set by the festival committee only weeks ahead. Before driving forty minutes into the mountains, message us on WhatsApp: we'll tell you whether it's on, what time the procession leaves and where to park. Rooms and apartments on the corso → · The food festivals →
Frequently asked questions
When is the Madonna festival in Capo d'Orlando?
On 22 October, the feast of Maria Santissima of Capo d'Orlando: a dawn pilgrimage up the 230 steps to the sanctuary on the headland, the statue's descent at midday, and the procession through the streets in the afternoon, with a fair and fireworks.
What is the difference between the 15 August and 22 October feasts?
On 15 August, Maria SS. di Porto Salvo is celebrated with a procession by sea on the fishermen's boats; 22 October is the feast of the town's patron, tied to the sanctuary on the mount. They are two distinct celebrations.
Are there patron saint feasts in the Nebrodi in winter too?
Yes, and they are among the most intense: Saint Sebastian at Tortorici and Mistretta from 17 to 20 January, the penitential procession of San Calogero at San Salvatore di Fitalia on 5 February, and the Babbaluti of San Marco d'Alunzio on the last Friday of March.
Who are the Babbaluti of San Marco d'Alunzio?
They are the thirty-three hooded, barefoot penitents dressed in blue who, on the last Friday of March, carry the Holy Crucifix of Aracoeli on their shoulders by vow. Thirty-three, like the years of Christ.
When is the feast of the Black Madonna of Tindari?
On 7 and 8 September: the procession on the evening of the 7th and the Pontifical mass on the 8th, at the sanctuary above the Marinello lagoons, about half an hour by car from Capo d'Orlando.
What is the ballu di Gesanti in Mistretta?
It is the dance of two papier-mâché giants, Kronos and Mytia, that accompanies the feast of the Madonna della Luce at Mistretta on 7 and 8 September.
When is the Feast of the Three Saints in Galati Mamertino?
From 23 to 26 August. The main day is the 25th, with the crowning of the Crucifix by Fra' Umile da Petralia, the litter dressed with ears of wheat, and the evening procession where the three figures — Saint Roch, the Holy Crucifix and Saint James — are reunited.
Who is the patron saint of Galati Mamertino?
Saint James the Apostle, celebrated on 24 and 25 July with processions of the relics and the statue. The best attended feast, however, remains that of the Three Saints, from 23 to 26 August.
When is the feast of Saint Vincent in Castell'Umberto?
Twice a year: the liturgical feast on 4 and 5 April, and the main patronal feast from 26 to 28 August, prepared from 26 July with bells ringing out daily. On the 28th the litter, dressed in gold and in bells donated by the faithful, is carried through the whole village.
Keep reading
Capo d'Orlando by bike
On 26 August 2026 Jovanotti set off from the Andrea Doria seafront at seven in the morning for a hundred and fifty kilometres to Palermo. That road starts here — and it isn't the only one.
When to visit Capo d'Orlando: the right month for each trip
In August you come for the sea and find half of Italy. In September the water is warmer than in June and prices have dropped. In October, the feasts. Month by month: temperatures, sea, crowds and what's happening.
The produce of this coast: what to eat, and when
A salami that is Sicily's only IGP, a Slow Food Presidium cheese, and the lemon that built this town's wealth. Between coast and mountain everything changes within half an hour's drive: what to look for, and in which season.
Related destinations: Capo d'Orlando, Nebrodi Park.
Stay in Capo d'Orlando
A base in the centre — and everything else becomes a day trip.
The port for the Aeolians is 45 minutes away, the Nebrodi right behind. Breakfast served early for dawn departures.
Direct booking, no intermediaries · See the rooftop →