Freedom Festival: Bonfires in the Waldensian Valleys

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In 1174, a wealthy merchant from Lyon took a vow of poverty, giving rise to the Waldensian movement. Over these 850 years, one of the places where many of them sought refuge from persecution and established thriving communities was the three Waldensian Valleys in the Turin area. The Waldensian community also represents an important point of reference for the communal dimension, even for those who are not Waldensian.

From February 3rd to November 14th, various celebratory events will cover the entire year of 2024. However, one of these events is recurring year after year. On February 17, 1848, the sovereign of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto, issued the Letters Patent extending civil and political rights to the Waldensians. The event was marked and celebrated with grand demonstrations and with bonfires (fires) from village to village and valley to valley.

Since then, the annual celebration begins on the night of February 16th, during which the Waldensian communities light bonfires in various locations in the Pinerolo Valleys, setting fire to large piles carefully prepared in the preceding weeks by collecting wood during forest and vineyard cleanup operations.

On the evening of February 16th, you can join a community torchlight procession to the bonfire site, where you will witness celebrations with prayers, communal songs, and the distribution of the typical mulled wine. You will realize how this is a highly participatory, aggregating, and communal moment, not of an ecclesiastical nature but of a social and civil nature, involving the entire population.

On the morning of February 17th, you can participate in religious worship and a procession in Waldensian attire with one of the numerous communities present in the Pinerolo area. You can also attend theatrical events and participate in community meetings.

You can also taste the star of the kitchens, the traditional “supa barbetta”, a dish named after the “barba” (in Piedmontese dialect “uncle”) and “barbet”, a term used by the Waldensians in medieval times to refer to the “barbet” preachers who traveled from the valleys of western Piedmont to preach faith throughout the rest of Europe.