Calendar of traditions

Feast of San Teobaldo, patron saint of Badia Polesine

Where

Badia Polesine

When

late June – 1 July

Since

XI secolo

Badia Polesine honours San Teobaldo (St Theobald), an 11th-century French hermit whose relics rest in the archpriest's church of San Giovanni Battista. The Comune commemorates the translation of his body from Vicenza to the abbey of the Vangadizza, whose 950th anniversary was celebrated in 2024. The saint is invoked as protector of the eyes: the feast ends with the ritual washing of the eyes.

• Abbey of the VangadizzaThe abbey that was both lordship and diocese

Fishermen's Festival of Saints Peter and Paul

Where

Porto Tolle (Scardovari)

When

June, around the 29th (Saints Peter and Paul)

Since

1947

This is the main festival of Scardovari, the fishing village overlooking the Sacca of the same name. It takes place in June on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul and is tied to the lagoon's mussels and clams. According to the Fondazione Qualivita, the sagra has been organised by the fishermen of Scardovari since 1947, and its photographs document the renown of the local mussel.

• Sacca degli Scardovari and the Oasi di Ca’ MelloThe lagoon of mussels and stilt huts
• Cozza di Scardovari PDO, the black pearl of the SaccaWhere the Po meets the sea, a lagoon has become the nursery of a unique mussel

Fair of the Blessed Virgin of Carmel

Where

Taglio di Po

When

July, around the middle of the month (Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 16 July)

The traditional fair of Taglio di Po takes its name from the Blessed Virgin of Carmel and lasts about ten days in mid-July. Organised by the Pro Loco under the patronage of the Comune, it brings together a funfair, stalls, tombola, evening shows and food stands: a village festival that returns every summer, linked to the Marian devotion of Carmel.

• The Taglio di Porto ViroThe river diverted by the Serenissima
• Ca' Vendramin, the cathedral of steam that drained the Isola di ArianoA sixty-metre chimney in the heart of the Delta tells how the land was made

Fair of Sant'Anna and Palio delle Contrade

Where

Gaiba

When

July, last few days (Sant'Anna, 26 July)

The Comune of Gaiba presents it as a long-standing tradition that brings the village's rural past back to life. The Fair of Sant'Anna, at the end of July, includes the Palio delle Contrade, with parades in period costume and games of skill between the districts. Gaiba is also home to a 17th-century oratory dedicated to Sant'Anna, near Villa Stampanoni.

Ferragosto Badiese

Where

Badia Polesine

When

August, the week of Ferragosto

Eleven days of festivities around 15 August, with the traditional funfair in piazza Marconi, concerts in piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, the Pro Loco's osteria, exhibitions and guided tours of the Ghiacciaia park at the abbey of the Vangadizza. It closes with a fireworks display. In 2026 the Comune announced its 80th edition.

• Abbey of the VangadizzaThe abbey that was both lordship and diocese

Fair of San Rocco

Where

Calto

When

August, around the 16th (San Rocco)

Every August Calto celebrates the saint to whom its parish church has been dedicated since 1599. The bond with San Rocco (St Roch) grew stronger after the plague of 1630, which claimed more than seventy lives: the people of Calto vowed to build a larger church, begun around 1690. Each year the Comune publishes the fair's programme of events.

Patronal feast of the Nativity of Mary at the Pilastrello

Where

Lendinara

When

8 September

On the solemnity of the Nativity of Mary, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pilastrello celebrates its patronal feast, with Mass presided over by the Bishop of Adria-Rovigo. It is a «molto sentita» (deeply felt) occasion in Lendinara and the surrounding area, as the Diocese notes. The sanctuary is also a place of pilgrimage, including a walk from Rovigo promoted in recent years.

• Sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del PilastrelloThe Black Madonna born of a stormy night

September Fair

Where

Ceneselli

When

September, third Sunday

In the Alto Polesine, Ceneselli renews its September Fair every year; the Comune describes it as having reached its 225th edition, a tradition spanning more than two centuries. The local festival calendar also includes the patronal feast of the Annunciation on 25 March and the religious feast of the Divin Parto in October.

October Fair

Where

Rovigo

When

October, last ten days (from about 20 October)

Since

1482

Rovigo's great fair dates back to 12 August 1482, when the city passed to the Republic of Venice. In 1595 its start was fixed at 20 October, for eight days, partly to give farmers time for the harvest. Livestock was once sold outside Porta San Francesco, and calves were kept in boats on the Adigetto. Since 1822 there has also been the «Marti franco» (toll-free Tuesday), the first Tuesday of the fair.

• The October FairFive centuries of horses, calves on boats and opera
• The Vanished Adigetto and Corso del PopoloThe street that walks on top of a river
• Teatro Sociale di RovigoThe stage of Gigli, Tebaldi, Callas and Pavarotti

Feast of the Blessed Virgin of Graces

Where

Rovigo

When

October, last Sunday (close of the feast)

In Rovigo's Duomo-Concattedrale the image of the Blessed Virgin of Graces is venerated; around it, the bishop recalls, the people of Rovigo have gathered in popular prayer for «molti secoli» (many centuries). The feast ends in late October with a celebration in the Duomo presided over by the bishop, entrusting the city and the diocese to the Madonna.

• Duomo (Co-Cathedral) of Santo StefanoThe bishops’ church, with a façade never finished
• The October FairFive centuries of horses, calves on boats and opera
• The suspended hammer: the Madonna del DomettoThe little baptistery in front of the Duomo and the fresco that would not be destroyed

Fair of San Martino

Where

Castelmassa

When

November, in the days around the 11th (San Martino)

Since

1819

The fair was officially established by the Austrian government on 10 May 1819, but a notarial deed records a fair as early as 1765. Born as a market for livestock, hemp, seed and farm tools in via Mercanta, it has gone through declines and revivals, with acrobats, carousels and equestrian circus. In 1955 it hosted the first national Cantastorie (balladeers') competition. In 2025 it reached its 207th edition.

Giornate della Carboneria

Where

Fratta Polesine

When

November, the weekend around the 11th (San Martino)

Fratta re-enacts the secret dinner of 11 November 1818, when the Carbonari of the Polesine met at Villa Grimani Molin to plot against Austrian rule, and the arrests that followed. Actors in costume recreate the banquet with dishes inspired by the 19th century, while the historic centre relives the San Martino festivities of 1818. Organised by the Comune, it reached its 23rd edition in 2024.

• The Banquet of San MartinoThe Carbonari of Fratta and the dinner that led to the Spielberg
• Villa Grimani Molin AvezzùThe villa on the water where the Carbonari dined

Feast of San Bellino, patron saint of the Diocese and of Rovigo

Where

San Bellino e Rovigo

When

26 November

On 26 November, the anniversary of his death, the Diocese celebrates San Bellino, Bishop of Padua, killed in the 12th century, according to tradition in the woodland between Fratta and today's San Bellino. Mass is held in the basilica that keeps his remains, invoked for centuries against rabies; in Rovigo the feast ends in the Duomo. By tradition, red ribbons are placed in shop windows and around dogs' necks.

• Basilica of San BellinoThe martyr bishop who guards against rabies
• Duomo (Co-Cathedral) of Santo StefanoThe bishops’ church, with a façade never finished