This tiny Italian village celebrates St. Patrick’s Day just like Ireland

Wait...does Italy really celebrate St. Patrick's Day like the Irish people? Not everyone knows this, perhaps not even many Italians, but the answer is yes!

You wouldn’t ever expect you'd be able to find and witness an authentic St. Patrick's Day celebration - in pure Irish style - within a small town in Central Italy, but instead here it is: get ready to discover and experience together Torre San Patrizio, in Le Marche, simply the most Irish town in Italy!

Every year, in the picturesque historical and landscape setting of this fortified village in the hills of the province of Fermo, the entire week leading up to March 17 is a jubilation of folk emotions and fun.

With live music, tastings of traditional dishes and excellent craft beers, playful activities for children, themed parades and lots, lots, lots of green in the squares and alleyways of Torre San Patrizio, here you can celebrate the shamrock saint just like in Ireland (and with that hint of pure Italian identity that makes this patron saint's day so special!).

The most skeptical people might not believe that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with such faith and passion in a small Italian village, and perhaps they're partly right. How did the cult of Ireland's patron saint arrive and establish itself in the heart of the Marche region?

The answer lies in ancient times, in the origins of the village itself as we know it. It was the era of the development and increasingly widespread diffusion of Christianity throughout Europe, of the establishment of abbeys and of the spiritual journeys undertaken by monks to spread the faith.

The name Torre San Patrizio derives from the ancient Turris Patritia, which was later vulgarized and linked to the saint. Between 1650 and 1653, Archbishop Giovanni Battista Rinuccini - having returned from the Irish Confederate Wars - donated the saint's relics to the town.

A devotion so profound that it has survived unchanged over centuries, consolidated by the cultural twinning with Ireland and in particular with the town of Kells. And today, after more than a thousand years, it revives ever stronger in Torre San Patrizio with the annual March’s celebration, an exceptional fusion of faith and folklore that blends the Irish spirit with the town's Italian soul.

This is Torre San Patrizio, the only town in Italy to bear the name of the shamrock saint: two sides of the same coin, perhaps different and conceptually distant, yet inseparable now in joyfully celebrating the protector of Ireland. Anyway it's finally time to dress up for the occasion, full green of course!

You're curious to find out how they celebrate the week of March 17th in Torre San Patrizio, right? But beware, this experience might make you question about the place you’re at now...you know, the Italian and Irish flags are quite similar, after all!

But if you're not afraid of the risk - catching the wrong plane and finding yourself in the Marche region instead of Dublin - this year's St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the town are scheduled from Thursday, March 12 to Sunday, March 15, with a grand finale on Tuesday the 17th with mass and cabaret events.

The heart of the event is the Saint Patrick's Hall marquee, an indoor space ready to ignite with emotion every evening with the magical sounds of folk and celtic music concerts and the traditional flavors of Irish cuisine, yet revisited with an unmistakable Marche twist. Of course, excellent craft beer is a must!

But even the historic centre is a hymn of devotion to St. Patrick, in the evocative setting that only an ancient Italian hamlet can convey. Imagine strolling through its cobblestone streets, climbing the steps leading to the terraces atop the historic town walls, and suddenly everything turns green... No, it's not imagination, but the irresistible aesthetic of Italy's most beautiful Irish festival.

For such occasion, every year the long evenings of Torre San Patrizio are colored with the green of the shamrock, amidst street lights and themed decorations. During the day, thousands of green bows and ribbons silently line the perimeter of the festival, painting alleys, railings and balconies with the colors of Ireland.

A perfect backdrop for marveling at the wonderful themed parades: here you can meet St. Patrick in person, discover if there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or join the leprechauns and experience the village from a unique perspective to surprise your friends and leave them speechless on social media!

It's true, March is certainly the month that mainly highlights Torre San Patrizio according to travelers as a new, unmissable and curious destination to experience, combining folk passion and faith. But there's much more to discover beyond the green of the Irish shamrock, all year round.

Still speaking of the religious theme, for those visiting Torre San Patrizio it’s a must to visit the picturesque Church of Madonna delle Rose, right in the heart of the ancient fortified town. Perhaps it's just a coincidence that this small church is located near to the sacred shrine that houses the sculpted bust of St. Patrick, but it's one of those places that undeniably conveys a sensation of beauty, of divine. And once inside, you'll fully understand that feeling.

This small, fifteenth-century church is a gem, humble in size but not in artistic heritage. The unmissable attraction housed within its ancient walls is the fresco Madonna del Latte, painted by Pierpalma da Fermo in 1466, one of the peaks of sacred art in the Marche region on the threshold of the renaissance.

It's also worth venturing outside the centre of Torre San Patrizio, to discover places rich in charm and mystery that have marked an era. One of these is Villa Zara, on the hill of San Venanzo, former home of the couple Arturo Galletti di Cadilhac and Margaret Collier, a British writer who captured the idyllic rural life of Le Marche in Our Home by the Adriatic experienced and seen through the eyes of a foreigner.

The villa includes a park of about three hectares with a picturesque view stretching from the Sibillini Mountains to the Adriatic Sea, a tranquil green paradise - yes, green like St. Patrick's Ireland - perfect for a break immersed in nature and kissed by the sunshine.

If you're eager to experience the most exciting Irish festival in Italy and visit the magic of Torre San Patrizio, follow these travel tips - no need to say it, remember to dress in green!

You're probably already daydreaming about the folk passion that awaits you on the festive week of March 17th, but first of all...how do you get to Torre San Patrizio? The main means of transportation for getting around the villages of Le Marche is definitely by car.

If you're arriving in the region by plane at Ancona International Airport (connected to Rome and Milan, but also to London and Paris for intercontinental travel from USA and Asia), you can easily rent a car directly at the airport after landing. From there, simply travel south on Autostrada A14, take the Fermo-Porto San Giorgio exit and continue following the road signs for Fermo and Torre San Patrizio beyond the Tenna river.

The best place to park your car is Via dell'Artigianato, the area of Torre San Patrizio dedicated to artisan shoe craftsmanship, next to the SP44 road south of the city centre. A free shuttle bus service is available from here on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, making it comfortable to get to Via Oliva (Saint Patrick's Hall) to join the lighthearted atmosphere of the St. Patrick's Day festival, stress-free!

Every evening there are sensational concerts featuring experimental folk and celtic-inspired music starting at 9:00 PM, as well as food and beverage stands open from 7:30 PM where you can enjoy traditional Irish dishes and sip the exclusive locally brewed green craft beer.

On Sundays the food area is also open at lunch from 1:00 PM, and all day until 6:00 PM having fun is must-do for families with children by enjoying together games, magic, entertainment and activities in full Irish style!

Now that you know there's an Italian village that celebrates St. Patrick's Day with the same intensity as the Irish people, you could play a funny prank on your friends (spoiler alert: we're sure they'll appreciate it!).

As you explore the vibrant Torre San Patrizio on your next trip to Le Marche, take photos of the village dressed in green, post stories and videos of the concerts and the spectacular costume parade featuring leprechauns, shamrocks, pots of gold and magical rainbows, or maybe share an exclusive selfie with St. Patrick - obviously, don’t mention that you're in Italy!

Ask them to guess the place you're writing from and have fun checking their reactions. Do you think anyone could actually answer correctly as Italy? Well, in that case the least you can do is offer them a beer (Irish, of course!).

How about the others? Easy: share this article and surprise them with the joy and enchantment of Italy's most evocative Irish festival. Happy St. Patrick's Day!