Feast of St Anthony

Event Dates

The citizens of Anzio, near Rome, celebrate their saint protector with religious ceremonies, masses and by giving out the blessed 'bread of the poor'.

The celebration on 13 June, the feast day of the saint, represents the spiritual dimension of the folkloric feast. The touristic folkloric event is the Festa del Mare, or 'feast of the sea', which takes place in late June / early July.

The celebration is marked by special dedicated masses, and the distribution of the Pane dei Pover, the 'bread of the poor'. The charitable practice of handing out free blessed bread to the poor of the region originated in the 18th century and still persists today, albeit in somewhat more symbolical form.

The focal point of the celebrations is the spectacular local church erected in the 19th century on commission by Pope Pius IX, dedicated to Pope Pius V and St Anthony. Pope Pius V is famous among other things for having received a precognitive vision of victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571, a vision which is immortalised in a beautiful painting in the church, and for having excommunicated Elizabeth I in July 1570.