Discover “Pesa Vegia”, a festival with 400 years of history on the eastern branch of Lake Como

The town of Bellano, on the eastern branch of Lake Como, in Northern Italy, has for hundreds of years boasted a festive tradition capable of warming the spirits of its participants in the cold winter of January.
It is the Pesa Vegia, an event with 400 years of history, which is celebrated every year on January 5th, and many are the legends and hypotheses that have arisen over the years around the birth of this ultracentenarian celebration, a mixture of history and folklore, of the sacred and the profane.

The most likely date is documented to be around 1605, the year in which a proclamation was issued, by Governor Pedro Acevedo, Count of Fuentes, which annulled his previous reform of 1604 and restored the old units of measurement (hence the name “Pesa Vegia”).
The new units of measurement, or the “pesa nova”, had caused disappointment especially among the Bellano merchants: that “unjust ordinance” was considered a real calamity for the commercial activities of the town if it were not possible to oppose its application.
Therefore, in a heated meeting in the Town Hall, it was decided to appeal to the Governor himself, so that he would cancel the new systems and issue a new proclamation to restore the old measures.
As a result, the Count of Fuentes, demonstrating all his magnanimity, accepted the pleas of the inhabitants of Bellano and put himself at the head of a delegation with the Larian village as his destination.
The atmosphere in the town was tense due to the outcome of the expedition and, since early afternoon, an unusual coming and going animated its main streets.
After sunset, the beach beyond the Pioverna stream was full of young and old people anxiously awaiting the gondola coach.
Time passed inexorably, darkness was approaching, and the air was freezing.
Huddled around a bonfire, men and women were worried, and every now and then they looked toward the darkness of the lake to catch some minimal sign. When finally the sound of a splash came suddenly, the freezing villagers stood up to peer into the distance and, when they saw the gondola coach, they shouted from the shore with all their breath, “Pesa vegia or Pesa nova?”.

“Pesa Vegia” was the answer.

Commoners and merchants rejoiced, and the whole town rushed to the dock to welcome the Spanish messengers bearing the benevolent ordinance.
Someone remembered that it was the eve of the Epiphany and, crazy with joy, they staged the representation of the Magi and, improvising a long procession, walked through the streets of the village stopping to drink and eat in the taverns and inns open all night until morning.

The people of Bellano have celebrated this event every year for over 4 centuries, even in times of war and deprivation, staging the procession of the Magi, the Pese race through the streets of the village and the bonfire on the pier.
Over the years, there have been many changes and innovations in the way of celebrating the good news. And so in the second half of the twentieth century the Governor and the reading of the edict from the balcony of the Town Hall, the living nativity scene, the castle of King Herod and more came to light: elements that, inserted into the traditional Feast of the Magi, give rise to that popular event where the sacred merges with the profane in an indissoluble bond called “Pesa Vegia”.
In its reenactment, the landing of the boat is certainly one of the most evocative moments.
This is preceded by the “traino delle pese”, that is, the original custom, performed by children and young people, of dragging scrap metal and noisy debris through the streets that recall the scales to be thrown away.
Shortly after, the governor enters the town, surrounded by ladies and gentlemen, who heads towards the town hall and reads the ordinance in front of a large crowd that cheers at every sentence he pronounces, throwing some unfortunate girl into the air. After that, the procession composed of the Wise Men enters the scene, parading through the streets of the town, stopping at some pre-established points, where the numerous participants compete to grab as many sweets as possible.
The night of celebration ends with the lighting of the bonfire on the pier.

The celebration is so deeply rooted and its strength is so surprising that not even the recent COVID-19 pandemic was able to stop the arrival of the Governor at the port, the reading of the Benevolent Ordinance from the balcony of the Town Hall and the traditional tour of the Three Kings, followed from afar by locals forced to stay at home, but all present together with their hearts shouting “Pesa Vegia!”.

All photos are mine