Every year on the second Sunday of July, the Festa dul Bambin is held in Vagna, on the upper slopes of Domodossola, and is a centuries-old tradition that celebrates the ‘Summer Christmas‘.
The origins of this celebration date back to the 17th century; the inhabitants of Vagna would commemorate the birth of Jesus in summer, as this was the only time of the year when the heads of the family, who had emigrated abroad for work, would return to their home town.
The Festa dul Bambin is still to this day a very heart-felt and distinctively typical event, a tradition that over time has acquired a strong identity that draws more and more parallels with December-time Christmas celebrations, despite the weather is entirely different to the one that marks the traditional winter holiday.
Celebrations combine the religious origins of the tradition with an element of fun: women wear typical dress and parade the streets of Vagna carrying the traditional decorated saplings on their heads (known as cavagnette) and the delicious dul bambin panettone, whilst the Christmas songs played during Sunday Mass make it an even more spellbinding and unique event.
