San Giovanni Festival Comacina Island

All the neighboring villages of the island of Comacina take part in the great festival of San Giovanni (Sagra di San Giovanni): Ossuccio, Sala Comacina and Bellagio.

If June 24th, the day of Saint San Giovanni Battista, falls on a working day, the festival will be on Saturday and Sunday moved forward or backward.

The origin of the San Giovanni festival and the Sagra di Lumaghitt (lumache=snail festival) go back to an old legend ; ck: according to this, the inhabitants of the area   succeeded in   Middle Ages   to protect themselves from the devastating hailstones that destroyed the harvest year after year by imploring the protection of Saint San Giovanni Battista and in one the solemn boat procession to the island of Comacina. There is also a small church in honor of the saint on the island.
Legend has it that since then the area has been spared from bad storms- and since then the procession has been repeated annually, accompanied by a festival with nightly lights and fireworks spectacle.

Traditionally, polenta and snails are eaten at this festival. And the re-use of the empty shellfish of the molluscs has also been considered: with a little oil and a wick they can be turned into lamps- hence the name Lumaghitt.
Over time, the fires on the island and the rivers in the water took on another meaning. They are reminiscent of the great fire on the island of Comacina in 1169. At that time, the inhabitants of the City of Como to the inhabitants of the region (who, together with the Mail countries, had participated in the destruction of their city in 1127) by attacking the island and completely destroying everything, including the new churches on the fortified cliffs .

The medioval performance on   San Giovanni Festival begins at dusk. The approximately one-hour fireworks usually start after 10 p.m.

Here you will find a practical overview (which you can express) of where in Ossuccio and   Sala Comacina   which   Enjoy the festivities Sagra di San Giovanni program