Saint Cassian: Comacchio Celebrates Its History

There's one evening a year when the canals and alleyways that shape Comacchio's face become the stage for a festival that brings together faith, tradition, music and flavour: the 13th of August, the Feast of Saint Cassian, patron saint of the town. The traditional boats are blessed ahead of the Historic Regatta, and once again, water becomes the beating heart of the town's life.

Around this moment grows a five-day festival, from the 9th to the 13th of August, filling the whole historic centre with concerts, shows, street food, a funfair and activities for all ages.

A Curious Tale About the Patron Saint

Saint Cassian is the patron saint of writers, alongside the Evangelists Luke and John, Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint Francis de Sales.

Behind his name lies a story with the flavour of legend, yet with a surprisingly concrete twist. Cassian was a teacher, sentenced to death in Roman times for his faith, and according to tradition, it was his own students who were made to carry out the sentence, using the styluses they used to write on wax tablets. For centuries, the tale sat somewhere between history and legend, until studies carried out from 2004 onwards on relics attributed to the saint found, on the skull, holes consistent with exactly those instruments.

The Historic Regatta, the Heart of the Festival

The highlight of the celebrations is the Historic Regatta of Saint Cassian, which brings the Canale Navigabile to life on the evening of the 13th of August. The stars of the show are the batane, known in their racing form as vulicipi: boats around eight metres long but barely 45–50 centimetres wide, built to glide nimbly through the canals and shallow waters of the Comacchio lagoon.

The name batana comes from a sound: the rhythmic "bat, bat, bat" of the lagoon's small waves against the boat's flat hull. These boats were once used by the fiocinini, poachers who slipped out at night into the lagoon to escape the wardens' watch. Unstable as they were, their speed made all the difference.

Today's regatta re-enacts those clandestine chases, turning an old act of survival into a shared ritual that has continued almost without interruption since the 1960s, with records of races dating back as far as the 1930s.

Each crew is made up of two rowers who stand to row, crossing their oars, using the vallesana rowing technique — the same style found in the Venice lagoon. The number of participating teams varies from year to year, from as few as three up to eleven or twelve crews.

Before the start, at 6pm in the Basilica, a solemn Mass is celebrated with the traditional blessing of the boats.

A Festival for the Whole Town

Alongside the more traditional moments, the programme also brings live music, concerts in the Basilica, guided tours, La Plaza del Gusto with local food specialities, a funfair and the ever-popular tombola.

The grand finale comes on the evening of the 13th of August, when fireworks reflect across the canals, closing out another edition of the celebration.

Discover the full programme — we look forward to celebrating with you over these five days of festival!