In the small village of Villalago in the Sagittario Valley, St. Dominic is celebrated three times a year: on Jan. 22, the day of his death, on Angel Monday and on Aug. 22. On the anniversary of the monk’s death, it is customary to light fires, called fanoglie, as a sign of devotion: these are tall, cone-shaped stacks of wood, prepared a few days earlier by the townspeople. Nowadays it is easy to find the necessary wood, but in decades past, it was the local boys who went from house to house asking for wood, which was then stacked in a large area of the center.
Each neighborhood proceeds to build its fanoglia, which then, in the late afternoon of the feast days (Jan. 21 and 22), after the recitation of Vespers, will be lit and the pyres will burn until late at night. Neighborhood families gather around their fanoglia, amid singing and feasting on sausages, lake fish, potatoes and barbecued food, renewing the sense of community. This event has become a unique and deeply felt tradition throughout the region.The exact date of the beginning of this tradition is unknown, but in Abruzzo it has always been customary to light fires in honor of the main saints. Probably the first fires or fanoglie were lit to commemorate the death of St. Dominic by the friars in the space in front of their Monastery, and it is likely that this tradition was also passed on to the inhabitants of the first nucleus of Villalago, as a fire dedicated to the Saint to give strength to the poor people to face the problems and dangers related to a whole year of activity.
Also in the territory of the municipality of Villalago is the Lake of San Domenico, or Lago Pio, which rises in the Upper Sagittario Valley; its deep emerald green waters can be crossed thanks to a footbridge, after which theHermitage of San Domenico is reached. According to local tradition, the hermitage was dug by the Monk around the year 1000; the faithful use to touch the walls of the hermitage or bathe themselves with the water in the cave to invoke healing and receive protection.
Villalago, the Hermitage and Lake San Domenico can be reached via the A25 highway by exiting at the Cocullo tollbooth and continuing on SR 479 Sannite towards Scanno/Villalago. This is one of the most enchanting and scenic roads in Abruzzo, crossing the Sagittario Gorge with a series of picturesque tunnels and viaducts.
