Barga's Annual Perdono d'Assisi Procession Draws Community

Each year on the evening of August 2, the town of Barga in Tuscany holds the traditional Perdono d'Assisi procession. The wooden statue of St Francis is lifted onto the shoulders of four bearers and carried from the Church of San Francesco through the historic streets, accompanied by altar servers, confraternities, civic representatives and a long line of townspeople with candles. The procession is led by Don Stefano Serafini and the local band Filarmonica G. Luporini provides music that alternates with prayers as the route winds past the walls of Barga Vecchia before returning to the church.

The event offers the plenary indulgence known as the Perdono d'Assisi, a devotion established by St Francis more than 800 years ago. Residents describe the celebration as both a religious rite and a community reunion, with families gathering along the route and visitors watching a tradition that has changed little since its first report in 2003. Similar festivities were noted in other Italian locales, such as Messina, where local media highlighted the Festa del Perdono di Assisi as a key cultural observance.