Aosta · Italy

The Sant'Orso fair

On 30 and 31 January these streets disappear beneath the stalls. The Sant'Orso fair has been held for about a thousand years, and it does not sell souvenirs: it sells what the inhabitants of this valley know how to make with their hands in winter, when the work in the fields halts. Carved wood, soapstone, wrought iron, leather, woollen cloth, lace. The exhibitors come from every commune in the valley, and many practise an entirely different trade for the rest of the year. On the night between the two days the town does not close: this is the veillà, when hot wine is drunk and people walk about until dawn, and at three in the morning the streets are still crowded. The cold is considerable. The whole valley comes regardless, because the fair is the moment at which the valley looks itself in the face.

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Why is it named after Sant’Orso?

For the legend of Ursus, the churchman who handed out wooden clogs to the poor outside his collegiate church. True or not, it describes the origin well: a fair that grew around a church and a practical act rather than a luxury market.

What is soapstone?

A soft stone you can turn on a lathe and which takes fire without cracking. It is made into pots and stoves that hold heat for a long time, and it is one of the oldest materials in the valley: people were working it here in Roman times.

What if it is not January?

There is a smaller fair in summer, and several workshops in town work all year. But the January fair is of a different nature: it is not an event laid on for visitors, it is the valley’s calendar, and the difference is evident.

Where it is

Via Edouard Aubert, 11100 Aosta · 45.73598, 7.3161 · Open in Maps

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