Patron saint festival In 284 days
Feast of Saint James
📅 Every year, on 25 July
On 25 July Riolunato, a municipality of 759 inhabitants in the province of Modena, celebrates its patron Saint James (San Giacomo).
The name may come from the river: the Scoltenna, in the stretch around the village, draws a curve that recalls the moon. Every three years, in the night between 30 April and 1 May, the Maggio delle ragazze is sung here: permission is asked in verse first of the mayor and then of the parish priest, after which the singers go from house to house with a rispetto tailored to each family. For a young man in love the Ambasciata is sung under the girl's dark window: if a light comes on, the offer has been accepted.
The village has a square named after Esperanto: in 1903 Riolunato hosted an international Esperantist congress, and it had been one of the first Italian municipalities with an association for the language, thanks to the French writer Albert Gallois, who lived here and has a plaque in his memory. In 2009 a church was inaugurated to Saint Frances Cabrini, patron of emigrants, in memory of a local emigrant.
🎉 Festivals and feasts in Riolunato 1
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🍝 The flavours of Riolunato
Aceto Balsamico di Modena cooked grape must and wine vinegar, dense and sweet-and-sour
Cooked grape must and wine vinegar aged in wooden barrels: Aceto Balsamico di Modena has held Protected Geographical Indication status since 2009.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Riolunato
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Riolunato, but an easy day trip away.
Castellana Caves 📍 Castellana Grotte · 1.8 km A 3,348-meter karst cave system mapped in 1938, noted for its 60-meter-deep skylight and dazzling white formations. Santuario di Maria Santissima Regina del Mondo 📍 Monopoli · 6.4 km The sanctuary in the Antonelli district of Monopoli, rebuilt as a vow for the town's safety and consecrated in 1950. Rione Monti 📍 Alberobello · 13 km The 1,030 trulli of Alberobello's larger quarter, laid dry-stone to dodge a tax. Trullo Sovrano 📍 Alberobello · 12 km With walls reaching 2.70 metres in thickness, the Trullo Sovrano is the supreme example of dry-stone architecture. Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali 📍 Polignano a Mare · 13 km Puglia's only permanent contemporary art museum, set in a former slaughterhouse overlooking the sea in Polignano. Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate 📍 Fasano · 17 km The Observant friars' church in Fasano, with its dome, onion-spired bell tower and frescoed 1600s cloister.