It is, without a doubt, in August, during the incomparable and magnificent Romería de Nossa Senhora d’Agonia, that the Vivian tradition reaches its highest point.

The procession towards the sea and the streets of Ribeira, adorned with flower carpets, are testimonies of a profound religious devotion. Ethnography has its place in the Parades of the Ethnographic Procession and in the Costume Festival, where you can admire the beautiful costumes of brides, butlers and farmers, worn by beautiful women from the Minho with chests full of authentic works of art in gold. The party continues… the concertinas and drums sound, the farmers dance…

The grandiose serenade of fireworks lights up the entire city, starting from the Gustave Eiffel Bridge, passing by the Castle of Santiago da Barra, up to the Temple-Monument of Santa Luzia… It is a hug from the people of Viana to all those who visit us during the month of August.

A secular celebration that continues to grow

The origins of the Agonia Pilgrimage date back to a Stations of the Cross referred to in documents from the 15th century. In 1674, the Chapel of the Good Jesus of the Holy Sepulchre was built there. The devotion arose in 1751, when the image of the saint was brought into the chapel, which significantly increased the number of promises and offerings, and it remains the patron saint of fishermen to this day.

The church dedicated to the saint began to be built in 1774 and, nine years later, the Sacred Congregation of Rites granted permission for a solemn mass to be celebrated there every year on August 20, a day that is still a municipal holiday today.

Along similar lines to the current ones, the festival began in 1823 and the first costume parade appeared in 1906. Two years later the programme included, for the first time, the agricultural parade, the predecessor of the current historical-ethnographic procession. In 1968 the first Procession to the Sea took place, another of the most emblematic numbers, with dozens and dozens of fishing boats carrying the image of the patron saint to the sea and river. The Feira Franca of the festival is also very old, celebrating 250 years of existence in this edition. In 2013, Romaria d’Agonia received the Declaration of Tourist Interest.

VianaFestas, the association that promotes the city’s festivals, is part of the City Council, the Regional Tourism Commission, the Business Association and the Association of Folklore Groups, organises the Romería de la Señora de Agonia and also the International Folklore Festival of Alto Miño and many other events integrated into the cultural and tourist animation programme of the city.