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Carnival of San Lazzaro in Borgo

22 March

39th edition of the San Lazzaro in Borgo Carnival

The feast of San Lazzaro takes place every year two weeks before Easter. Tradition has it that since ancient times, on this day, the people of Faenza would go to the Lazzaretto (at the time a leper hospital) on the Via Emilia, adjacent to the church of San Lazzaro (currently a monument dedicated to road accident victims), to offer tortelli and saba to the patients to alleviate their suffering, if only for a short time. In keeping with this tradition, the San Lazzaro Committee organizes the event every year, involving all the citizens of Faenza and neighboring municipalities. Over eight thousand people attend the festival.

The specialty of the festival is the TORTELLO, which is identified with the tradition of this feast. The tortello is a typical sweet of the Faenza area, unique and inimitable. Originally, it was a humble dessert that gradually became richer as living conditions improved. In the past, tortelli were made with a dough of flour, water, and salt, filled with boiled chestnuts, then baked in the oven and finally dipped in saba. In modern times, the dough is made by mixing flour, eggs, milk, butter, and sugar, while the filling is obtained by blending boiled chestnuts with chocolate, jam, candied fruit, and other ingredients at discretion, and after baking, they are dipped in saba.

Saba is a wine produced through a special process handed down from generation to generation (cooked must used as a condiment). The tortello has an elongated shape with a wheat spike closure, and presumed historians argue that this shape might be inspired by the figure of Lazarus wrapped in burial bands. In the past, every family in the borgo produced a large quantity of tortelli, and on the day of the feast, all the doors of the houses were open, and everyone could visit the families and eat tortelli and drink a glass of good wine.

San Lazzaro in Borgo, besides the specialty of TORTELLO, is also CARNIVAL.

PROGRAM
SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2026

From 2:30 PM onwards, floats and masked groups parade through the streets of Borgo D’Urbecco in a triumph of confetti and streamers.

The Committee also organizes side events, such as concerts for young people, painting exhibitions, walks along the banks of the Lamone River, and other cultural events. During the festival, there are plenty of stalls and food stands, and at the end of the evening, generous prizes are raffled off among all participants.

For more information
https://www.carnevalefaenza.altervista.org/index.html

Carnival of San Lazzaro in Borgo