PATRONAL FEAST OF SANTA MARGHERITA AND WHITE NIGHT

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The Municipality of Casteldelfino organizes events and initiatives dedicated to Italian communities abroad as part of the weekend of the Patronal Feast of Santa Margherita, a historical anniversary, which will be held on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July 2024.

Saturday will be characterized by the White Night, whose polenta for dinner will be followed by rich musical entertainment with folk dances and a grandiose fireworks display. On Sunday, a second-hand market and typical agri-food products of the area will be set up in the central street of the town and in the squares, which will be added to the Budellino shops, small shops of commercial activities, hobbies, souvenirs, books and antiques. In addition, the morning will be attended by the traditional procession of the statue of Santa Margherita in the historic center of the town, accompanied by the musical band, whose entertainment

will brighten up the whole day.

During the event it will be possible to taste, in the various restaurants of the town, the typical dish of the Varaita Valley and

Casteldelfino: the Ravioles.

Participation in this anniversary is also an opportunity to visit the “Museo dell’Alevè”, located in the center of the town, set up with the aim of enhancing and disseminating the naturalistic and environmental aspects that characterize the Bosco de l’Alevé, the largest pine forest in the Alps. A large space in which the visitor has the feeling of really entering the woods to discover its wonders, among whose dense pines it is possible to see, surprisingly, the many inhabitants of this fascinating environment.

The territory of the Municipality of Casteldelfino, in fact, is home to numerous spaces that have remained uncontaminated such as the Bosco dell’Alevè with its two lakes, Lake Bagnour and Lake Secco, which houses the largest expanse of stone pines in the Alps, on an area of 820 hectares that extends between 1600 and 2500 meters above sea level, in an area between the municipalities of Casteldelfino, Pontechianale and Sampeyre, exactly on the southern slopes of Monviso. Walks and excursions in the unspoiled nature of thousand-year-old trees and their regular guest, the nutcracker, a bird that feeds on pine nuts extracted from the pine cones that have fallen from these trees, await tourists at the

search for one’s roots that will reach Casteldelfino during the days of the event or will return later.

SATURDAY 20 JULY 2024

From 9:00 am to 1:00 pm: cooking workshop and tasting with the theme of “Ravioles”;

4:00 p.m.: Conference-debate of experts on the emigration flow of the ‘900 and screening of a film; 7:00 pm: polentata;

9:00 pm: musical entertainment with folk dances; 11:00 p.m.: great fireworks display.

SUNDAY 21 JULY 2024

10:00 a.m.: Procession of Santa Margherita along the streets of the historic center; 10:30 a.m.: Holy Mass in the parish church.

In the afternoon it is possible to visit the Ethnographic Museum “Ier a la Vilo”, to discover the customs and traditions

of our ancestors.

During the whole day the market will be set up in the central street and on the squares of the town among which

stalls will resound the notes of the musical band.