According to tradition, since 1389, every year on the 2nd July, Matera celebrates the Madonna della Bruna, the city’s Patron saint. Steeped in religious traditions, full of vibrant pagan rites, this spectacular festival is magical to be a part of. The Madonna della Bruna festival is the longest day of the year for Materans: the entire city pays homage to the Virgin, with celebrations long-awaited by the faithful. The festival celebrates the Virgin Mary apparition to a peasant, in a neighbourhood known today as Piccianello. The Carro Trionfale, a giant float, carries the Madonna around the streets of the town centre, up to the Cathedral. At night, the float continues its journey across the town’s central square, where it is grabbed and destroyed by the citizens, according to tradition.
The legend
A mysterious noble woman appeared to a peasant and his child while they were walking to the town. It is told that they agreed to take her to the inhabited centre. Once at the district known today as Piccianello district, in front of the most notable people in town, she disclosed all the magnificence of the Virgin Mary and asked the peasant to bring a letter to the Bishop, where she revealed she was the Mother of Jesus. All bystanders had a sudden flash of inspiration and since then, each year, on the 2nd of July, the apparition of the Virgin has been commemorated by carrying her statue in procession along the streets of Matera, on a giant float that is grabbed and destroyed by the citizens.
