The origins of Santhià Carnival date back to ancient times. Some documents prove that the event took place at the beginning of the fourteenth century, but some studies date it even further back in time, to 1093.
The highlights of the Carnival are the "Salamada", a procession in which 12 pigs, now replaced by the display of a papier-mâché mascot, were once paraded through the streets of the town before being slaughtered to make salami; the colossal "Fagiuolata", during which more than 20,000 plates of the traditional local dish based on beans, curd bacon fat and salami are distributed to the population; "le sveglie" played at dawn by the Corpo Pifferi e Tamburi to wake up those involved in the preparation of the event, and the "Rogo del Babàciu", a bonfire which brings the event to its end.
