The Festa della Madonna del Monte, universally known as the Barabbata, is the most important tradition in Marta. Every 14 May, this town on Lake Bolsena comes alive with a procession that stages the relationship between the community, farming, fishing and devotion to the Madonna. The festival involves the town's historic trade groups — the Casenghi, Bifolchi, Villani and Pescatori — who parade with decorated carts and tools, offering a very concrete picture of the area's traditional economy.
The four groups
Each group represents a part of the town's social history. The Casenghi recall work on the great estates, the Bifolchi the work with draught animals, the Villani farming, and the Pescatori the direct bond with Lake Bolsena. The procession is therefore also a portrait of life in Marta before the area's modern transformation.
The carts and the produce of the land
Decorated carts, flowers, fish, fruit, vegetables and work tools accompany the climb toward the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte. The result is spectacular yet strongly communal — and it's exactly this blend of religion and the memory of labour that sets the Barabbata apart from an ordinary local fair.
Marta on festival day
On 14 May, the old town and the lakefront become the stage for a centuries-old tradition, offering a unique chance to see Marta at its most authentic.
