Arrival in the square

The real village festival was held around the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, who are the patron saints of our parish church. Recently, however, this celebration has been moved to the period around Ferragosto. The festival is called Alpen Fest and generally lasts four days. On the first day there is a long parade of people in traditional costume, not only from the Val Canale, but also from neighbouring villages, including Slovenes, Carinthians and Friulians. It starts from Lower Tarvisio, goes up, passes by the market; then it takes Via Roma to reach Piazza Unità. This long procession is wonderful; with the band playing at the front... And in the central square of Tarvisio, in front of the church and in front of the town hall, this long procession arrives, with the official speeches of the various authorities. Usually not only the local authorities are invited, but also the Carinthian and Slovenian authorities. From there, the festival begins, lasting four days. In the evening there are always musical groups performing, there is always the Italian-speaking group, the Slovenian group, the Austrian group, and so on. It is a wonderful event that is also very well attended by both the public and tourists.

From a cultural point of view, the Val Canale has always been a laboratory, because of its borderland nature and its unique mix of influences linked to the various ethnic groups, both in the past and still today. This has led to the creation of interesting cultural initiatives. We could even describe them as somewhat experimental, which have sometimes also made it possible to encourage a more open-minded outlook. In the past there are historical sources, for example dating back to the time of Maria Theresa of Austria, which which documented the musical groups and musicians in the Val Canale. And it was mainly music, perhaps music played in taverns, played with accordion, violin, double bass. The zither as well. What today we would call house music, which was also widespread in the Val Canale. Two other important musical elements of the valley were the bands and therefore the wind instruments, as in many villages across Northern Europe, as well as the originally all-male choirs. This has always been a great tradition in the valley too. A tradition that continues today. I can say that in the valley there are various choral groups and in the last twenty years young people have been able to give new life to these choral projects, first with a youth choir, now also in the hamlets, with groups of young people who are committed to preserving folk singing, singing in the various languages. They are also rediscovering songs from 50 years ago, which had not been sung for a long time and which are now performed on the occasion of popular festivals. So, those who come to Tarvisio during summer can on various occasions come across the famous songs beneath the linden tree, for example in Camporosso on the last weekend of August or in the first days of September in Ugovizza, or also in other places in the valley. So, in the Val Canale there is also a widespread network of bands, choirs, musical groups, including folk groups, which continue to keep alive this tradition I spoke of at the beginning, which has very ancient origins. From this substratum, in any case, true talents emerge. There are young people who, precisely within this musical substratum, became passionate about making music and about being a musicians and have in fact become outstanding musicians, who today perhaps are teachers at conservatories or have become concert musicians and who in fact carry this wealth of experience with them all over the world. I myself, as a musician, often find myself playing on the other side of the world, for example in Asia or in the United States, but I always carry with me this baggage of culture, of traditions, of this corner where the three borders meet, which perhaps made me a citizen of the world earlier than most people.