We’re almost there, just a few days left until the party dedicated to patron saint of Basilicata: the Black Madonna of Viggiano (PZ).
Sunday 5 May, like every year (for 800 years), Viggiano celebrates its Black Madonna.
For centuries and centuries, every first Sunday of May the Black Madonna of Viggiano, Patroness and Queen of the Lucanian People, ascends to her Sacred Mount.
Some say that his presence already hovered in the Roman cities of Grumentum and Venusia during the first evangelical preachings, but most likely his cult dates back to the arrival of the Basilian monks from the East, this is the reason for his sallow face.
Apparently the first time the Statue came taken to the top of 1725 metres of the mountain of Viggiano was to escape the “barbaric fury” of the Saracens, around the year one thousand.
After a few decades (by then the Normans were there) the Statue was found by some shepherds thanks to the regular appearance of certain strange fires in a specific place and was brought back to the town, placing it in a chapel which was then enlarged and transformed into the sumptuous Today’s urban sanctuary, pride of all of Lucania.
At the same time, also in the place of discovery, on the top of the Mount (later called “sacred”), a chapel was built, where the statue was brought every first Sunday of May and from which it was taken back every first Sunday of September.
The Madonna herself, through frequent prodigieshad shown that he wanted to be with his people both during the summer, in the fields and mountains, for herding and agricultural work, and during the winter, when they retreated to the village due to the unfavorable weather .
Thus was born the habit of accompanying, on the first Sunday of May, the statue of the Black Madonna (enclosed in its precious casket) towards the “summer home”, in the Chapel at 1700 m above sea level.
During the arduous ascentthe pilgrims, singing and praying, although a modern road allows them to arrive by bus or car not far from the Sanctuary, they ascend on foot, often barefoot, carrying trophies of flowers and candles on their heads, singing, supplicating and thanking the Black Madonna.
Every year there are numerous Lucanian pilgrims devoted to this Madonna who go to Viggiano to pray and pay homage to the Virgin.
This is the program.
