The Festival of St John the Baptist in June is one of the most traditional festivals in Sardinia. St John the Baptist, patron Saint of shepherds, is still celebrated today very strongly in the towns of Sardinia’s inland.

 

During the festival, the streets of Fonni are decorated with the traditional colors of the procession, accompanied by knights and women in traditional costumes. An explosion of colors with flowers and ribbons enrich the typical alleys and streets, under a splendid mountain sun.

 

The procession shows the juxtaposition of a Christian rite over a pre-existing pagan one. The celebrations for the Saint have replaced those for the summer solstice, though preserving some references to that.

Together with the statue portraying the Saint, during the procession people carry also the intricate “Cohone e Vrores”, flower bread, handmade by the only woman to still safeguard the secret of its manufacture.

 

There are about 150 knights taking part in the procession. In the evening, at the end of the religious celebration, they move to Viale del Lavoro, right where our hotel is located, and they amuse themselves with spectaculars acrobatics. At the end of the night, celebrations continue with dances by the folk groups that took part in the procession.