Discover what to do in Salcedo: the Harvest and Pumpkin Festival, the Church of Sant’Anna, the hermitage of San Valentino. Do you want to know more? First of all…
Where is Salcedo?
The municipality of Salcedo borders to the north with Lusiana Conco, to the south with Fara Vicentino, to the east with Marostica and Molvena di Colceresa, to the west with Lugo di Vicenza and Fara Vicentino.
Harvest and Pumpkin Festival
One of the most fascinating and engaging events in Salcedo, the Harvest and Pumpkin Festival takes place every year in the second half of September to celebrate the agricultural and artisanal traditions that form the cultural identity of the industrious community harmoniously set among the vibrant grassy slopes in the heart of the province of Vicenza.
The streets of the center, squares, houses and churches come alive with colors, bringing back moments of daily life that the rhythms of nature and tools in wood and wrought iron slowly marked before the golden age of industrialization in the second half of the 1950s accelerated the pace of our society.
Witnessing the technical progress that marked the Italian economic miracle are splendid vintage wheeled and tracked tractors that announce their presence from afar with smoky, crackling roars.
Large food stalls will allow you to taste pasta and meat specialties, pumpkin-based dishes with a pleasantly sweet aroma, as well as prized varieties of radicchio with a slightly crunchy texture, slightly bitter and with bright shades ranging from red to bright purple.
If you are wondering what to do in Salcedo and are looking for an original idea to enjoy the last days of summer, participating in the Harvest and Pumpkin Festival and dea soca will be an ideal opportunity to get to know the industrious rural community through the significant stages that retrace its history, from century-old peasant customs to the roar of progress that catapulted the ancient stone village into modernity without ever betraying its soul, recognizable in the poor, nutritious and exquisite dishes of a unique and enchanting land.
Another delicious dish that attests to the high quality of raw materials produced in the green and healthy environment of the Vicenza area is tosella, a typical cheese originally from the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni.
The Church of Sant’Anna and the hermitage of San Valentino
The church is reachable via the pleasant, well-marked itinerary of the Valle dei Mulini that starts from the locality of Valle di Sopra in Lusiana Conco. Alternatively, the destination can be reached starting from the center of Salcedo.
You can leave your car in the parking lot on Via Corticella (45.75678866560519, 11.566016047323208). Head north to the intersection with Via Roma. Turn left, leave the parish church on your left, and take Via Cesare Battisti. After 190 meters, turn right onto Via Fontana and follow the winding asphalt road bordered by low walls and well-kept hedges that snakes among the hills.
The path goes into the dense tree vegetation, among whose foliage you can see spectacular landscape views of slopes dotted with olive groves and vineyards that disappear into the horizon from majestic mountain ranges.
Follow Via Fontana until you reach a large square with signs that detail the nature trails that go into the vast forest expanse. Continue westward along an avenue framed by well-aligned cypresses that leads to the white mass of the church of Sant’Anna.
Perched on one of the most suggestive scenic spots in Salcedo, the place of worship rises on top of a wooded hill, one of the quietest places in the municipality that seems to invite calm contemplation of a peaceful and seemingly timeless atmosphere.
Resting on a massive base, two pairs of Corinthian pilasters support the architrave, frieze, and triangular pediment that form the entrance to the structure. Lit by lunette windows, the interior area features an elaborate marble altar dedicated to Sant’Anna. The neoclassical church is connected to the 11th-century stone hermitage of San Sigismondo and San Valentino, a charming building distinguished by a simple and unadorned gabled facade, and to the millenary bell tower bearing four mullioned windows in the belfry.
