The feast of Saint Donato in San Donato Val di Comino origins of this festival date back to the Middle Ages, the eighth century, when the territory was under the possession of the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto. The feast day is August 7.
The festivities begin the night before with a torchlight procession accompanied by the pilgrims who make the vigil to the shrine and parade through the alleys of the old town.
When they come under the bell tower of the shrine, the band stops playing and the square is in darkness, with the lights off, fireworks start from the top of the tower illuminating the town from above.
The next day witnesses the rite of the dressing of the Saint done by the brotherhood and the procession goes through the narrow alleys of the medieval village.
Religious rites were followed by the festival.
From the beginning of 1900s, a week before the festival, in front of the sanctuary the peddlers sold cards of the Saint, mouth accordions, pins, mirrors and little trumpets.
Taverns and shops repaired the tables and the goods to be exhibited and they got the ice cream from the mountain snow because that was their only source of ice.
Today many things have remained unchanged.
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