The ceremonial use of the Pasquetta song opens the new cycle of questua practices with the celebration of the Epiphany — understood as the first “Easter” of the year — marking the manifestation of Jesus to the world. It also recalls His Baptism by John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan, traditionally placed on the following Sunday, often alluded to within the songs themselves in forms transmitted through preaching and reworked within rural contexts.

In Campotosto, the Pasquetta is performed on the evening of January 5, when the questua group — composed of people of all ages and accompanied by a player of the ddu bbottë (two-bass diatonic accordion) — moves from house to house, singing at the doorstep or inside the homes. The group usually receives offerings in money, along with refreshments based on wine and sweets. At the end of the singing, a saltarella (locally known as sardarella) is often performed, accompanied by the ddu bbottë, which is an essential presence within the group of itinerant singers. Participants and household members are drawn into a few dance steps, reinforcing the convivial and participatory dimension of the encounter.

The Pasquetta questua precedes, within the ritual calendar, that of Saint Anthony the Abbot, once practised in Campotosto but discontinued for several decades. By asking for offerings — which in the past consisted mainly of food — the group of questua performers evokes the image of the shepherds described in one of the songs still known in the village, who went to the “little cave”, the “poor shelter without fire or swaddling clothes” where the Infant Jesus was born, bringing as gifts lambs, cheese and animal skins to keep Him warm. The request formula, codified over time and now no longer in use, marked the transition from the sung phase to a more playful and relational moment, during which the group would linger with the householders — often at length — sharing drinks, especially where bonds of friendship and familiarity were stronger: “And give us something, for tomorrow is Pasquetta, give us a few coins, to the singers — cock-a-doodle-doo.”

As in the questua for Saint Anthony the Abbot, the Pasquetta itineraries also celebrate kinship and neighbourhood ties, friendships, and the network of relationships that forms the fabric of the community. Welcoming the travelling group is considered an honour, and refreshments are always offered, together with monetary offerings, which are later used to share a meal in a local trattoria. Until the 1970s, however, food offerings to be taken away were more common and were largely consumed the same evening among the questua participants: sausages, eggs, pasta, flour, bread.

In the memories of older inhabitants, past questua practices involved groups of friends of the same age, at a time when the village was densely populated, and numerous groups would set out. They would go from house to house in all weather conditions — even during snowstorms — sometimes digging their way through snowdrifts to reach every home in Campotosto. Older figures such as Giovanni Ciambotti, the former partisan, placed great importance on the practice, as did Tobia Zilli, Antonio Di Luzio, Guido “Pataniglio” Ranucci, who also played the accordion, and others. Children formed their own groups and performed a specific song, E Gesù Bambino nasce, now remembered but no longer in use, receiving eggs and mandarins as gifts; older participants would continue through the village late into the night, singing È notte silente, tra mille baglior, the song still performed today during the Pasquetta questua.