Festival de la Sainte Camille

The Festival de la Sainte Camille: A Popular Celebration Across Two Thousand Years of History

In the small village of Escolives-Sainte-Camille, about a dozen kilometers south of Auxerre, the Festival de la Sainte Camille is much more than a village festival: it's an annual gathering that celebrates both a local saint, two millennia of memory, and the Auxerrois way of life. Every July 13th, the archaeological site of the Gallo-Roman villa and Merovingian necropolis of Escolives opens its doors wide for a day and night of free shows, music, dance, and fire.

Saint Camille, Patron Saint of Escolives

The village owes its name to a historical and legendary figure of Christian Auxerrois. Saint Camille — or Camilla — was a young woman of Italian origin, born in Centumcellae (modern Civitavecchia), who served Saint Germain of Auxerre. When Bishop Germain died in Ravenna in 448, she was one of the five women who accompanied the funeral procession bringing his body from Italy to Auxerre. Upon reaching the outskirts of the village of Escolives, on the ancient Agrippa Roman road, she breathed her last before reaching the episcopal city. A church was built over her tomb, which was transformed into a crypt, and the village took the name Escolives-Sainte-Camille. Her memory has remained alive in the Auxerrois region, and July 13th has marked the festival dedicated to her for centuries.

An Exceptional Archaeological Site as a Setting

The festival is held within the grounds of the Escolives archaeological site, managed by the Société Archéologique d'Escolives and active year-round under the brand La Villa Scoliva. The site is one of the major hubs of Burgundian archaeology: accidentally discovered in 1955 during the uprooting of a walnut tree at a place called Grippe-Soleil, it revealed the remains of a rich Gallo-Roman villa occupied from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD. Excavations uncovered the foundations of a large estate organized around a rectangular courtyard, thermal baths enlarged in the 4th century, and, notably, a remarkable collection of Roman-period sculptures reused in the foundations of the baths — blocks of such quality that they make Escolives a reference site for ancient sculpture in northern Gaul. Adjacent to the villa, a Merovingian necropolis completes the ensemble, testifying to the continuity of human occupation in this valley of the Yonne.

It is this place, steeped in history and bathed in summer light, that serves as the natural setting for the festival. The remains of the thermal baths, the lawns of the site, and the open-air exhibition spaces become a stage open to two millennia for a day.

A Day of Eclectic and Free Performances

Organized by the association Sainte Camille, the festival offers a program from the afternoon onwards, combining live arts, heritage, and music. Several troupes and companies perform on the site:

• The Fanfare de Chevannes — a warm brass band — roams the site and livens up the festive atmosphere as soon as the gates open.
• The compagnie Hasufel offers a medieval and chivalrous equestrian show, up close to visitors, in the spirit of the great jousts that once animated seigneurial estates.
• Theatrical guided tours of the archaeological site allow visitors to immerse themselves in the Gallo-Roman history of Escolives, led by actors in period costume.
• Educational workshops for children explore, depending on the edition, daily ancient life, Roman games, Latin writing, or Gallo-Roman cuisine.

As night falls, the festival takes on a spectacular dimension:

• The Baladins de Saint-Verain — a folk dance troupe — open the evening with their traditional rounds and figures.
• The Tribu du Feu, or depending on the edition the pyrotechnic company Silvana Vuvic, offers a twenty-minute fire and pyrotechnics show, spectacular among the ancient stones of the site.
• The night concludes with a concert and a dance party with DJ David, transforming the archaeological site into an open-air dance floor.

The Gallo-Roman Banquet, a Moment of Conviviality

One of the festival's unique features is the parallel offering of a Gallo-Roman banquet by reservation, designed to echo the culinary culture of the site's ancient inhabitants. A period meal served in costume, dishes inspired by the recipes of Celsus or Apicius, wine from the Auxerrois region: this convivial option immerses participants in the atmosphere of the ancient villa for an evening. For others, fast food and a refreshment stand are available throughout the day.

A Festival Rooted in Local Identity

The Festival de la Sainte Camille does not have the scale of major regional festivals, and that is precisely its charm. Free, family-friendly, rooted in the history of the territory and in the patron saint's festival, it brings together the inhabitants of Escolives and the surrounding villages — Vincelles, Irancy, Coulanges-la-Vineuse, Auxerre — each year in a spirit of popular conviviality. The archaeological site, which hosts guided tours, school workshops, and evening events throughout the year, transforms for this unique day into a place of celebration where history and the present meet.