Sunday is a solemn celebration at the sanctuary of the Madonna del Lago, patron saint of the city of Bertinoro and, together with the Madonna del Fuoco, of the diocese of Forlì-Bertinoro. The program includes ‘Adventum’ today at 8.45pm. Spes contra spem. Opera and music starting from the experience of Etty Hillesum’, with Laura Aguzzoni, Marco Errani, Alessandro Maltoni, Antonio Boattini and Maria Boattini. On Friday at 8.45pm the dialect comedy Zibaldon Rumagnol de ‘La Cumpagnì dla Zercia’ will take place while on Saturday at 3.30pm there will be the children’s flower festival at the Madonna and the snack with the guests of the Casa della Carità of Bertinoro and then, at 5.30pm, the mass with wedding anniversaries. On Sunday the masses will be at 9 and 11, the latter presided over by the bishop of Forlì-Bertinoro, Msgr. Livio Corazza. The community lunch will follow at 12.30 pm and various games and entertainment at 3 pm. At 5.15pm recitation of the rosary and at 6pm mass celebrated by the parish priest, Don Gabriele Pirini. At 8.45pm the show ‘Pop spirit: the sacred in Italian songwriting from the 60s to today’ will take place. The party will also continue on Saturday 11th at 9pm with Calanchi Live, a concert by pianist Andrea Missiroli, and on Saturday 25th at 8.45pm with the ‘Songs to the Holy Mother, to the Mother Earth and to the Eternal Feminine: voices from Western traditions, in particular Latin-American ones’ .
In the sanctuary of the Madonna del Lago the image is venerated, in oriental style, painted on canvas and attached to a wooden board which, according to tradition, was saved in the 8th century during the iconoclastic struggle. Brought to the abbey of Santa Maria d’Urano, in Bertinoro, it disappeared repeatedly only to reappear again near the lake where the sanctuary was later built. The image represents the Madonna enthroned with the baby Jesus and measures over one meter in height, but only the upper part is visible because the lower part is covered by a silver foil from 1741. Various times, the first in 1636, the The image was solemnly brought to the Cathedral of Bertinoro and pilgrimages are still repeated today on the occasion of the festival, while outside there are stalls with traditional cedars. In 1793 the Sacred Congregation of Rites validated the title of patron saint of the city of Bertinoro for the Madonna del Lago, which was extended in 1935 to the entire diocese.
Alessandro Rondoni
