The festival was established in Nuoro at the beginning of the twentieth-century in occasion of the Redeemer's bronze statue being placed on Mount Ortobene's hilltop.  This event was ordered by Pope Leone XIII when, in memory of the 1890 jubilee, he decided to put a bronze statue on 19 Italian mountain tops (19 was the number of the redemption centuries).
The statue was made by the sculptor Vincenzo Jerace and unveiled the 29th of August 1901.  The ceremony was preceded by a parade involving thousands of people coming from all of the neighbouring villages, wearing coloured and precious traditional costumes.
The procession started from the Cathedral and went into the city streets up to the Ortobene woods. Since that day, the tradition of the procession in honour of the Saint takes place again every year, assuming importance for tourism and loosing its original, religious connotation.
In order to recuperate the religious essence of the event, the celebrations have been divided into two different days: the 29th of August is reserved for the religious event and the festival on Mount Ortobene.  The second-last Sunday of the month, the parade of traditional customs, coming from all of Barbagia's villages, takes place.
The festival ends in the evening in the Amphitheatre where folkloric performances and shows take place, with folk dances and songs going on until the following Sunday.