
St. Barbara Feast in Marmentino
- Periodicità
- Every year
- Periodo
- St. Barbara Day, 4th December
- Pratica
- Living
In Marmentino there is a small chapel dedicated to the people who died in the local mine. It was built by Marmentino miners. On Santa Barbara's day the inhabitants of the village gather together to follow the Mass and celebrate the dead. Within the church, apart from the Santa Barbara statue, there are tools and tombstones. The priest reads aloud the names of the people written on the tombstones and at each name the children answer "here I am". The priest celebrates the Holy Mass to which also the village Mayor participates.
The celebration goes on and is followed by a lunch in the oratory, an auction and an afternoon full of gossiping and songs out of the miners' repertoire and the alpine mountains one.
St. Barbara Chapel in Marmentino
The promoters of the event are the miners of Marmentino and their families. Marmentino has been for many centuries a miner and emigrant village. Working in a mine was the main activity for the men of the village who, after the mines were closed down, were obliged to emigrate abroad where very often they continued the same activity. The Santa Barbara celebration is deeply shared and attended by the entire community.
Santa Barbara Feast in Marmentino is part of R.E.I.L, that is Lombardia Intangible Heritage Register, a project aiming at treasuring, safeguarding and promoting the intangible heritage, traditions and rituals of the Lombardia Region.
Repertorio di canto polivocale legato ai minatori e al lavoro in miniera.




