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MADONNA DELLA BRUNA FESTIVAL

Every year, on the 2nd of July, in Matera, a festival is held in honor of the Madonna della Bruna,
the patron saint of the city; Our Lady is so called because her old image in the Cathedral of the city
once had a distinct brown color.
The event begins at the crack of dawn, when the local shepherds parade through the old quarters
of the town.
Originally, during the way, they collected their fellow workers and the procession functioned as a
kind of social wake up call.
In the evening you can see the most significant event of the festival: the triumphal chariot of Our
Lady is pulled by horses towards the cathedral. Just like many religious festivals, there is a
procession, the chariot is surrounded by "knights" with horses barded with paper flowers and
velvets and by many people, tourists or people coming from all the neighboring towns, who
accompany the chariot to the Cathedral. At around 10:00 PM the triumphal chariot and the
procession go back into Vittorio Veneto Square. Here, the traditional destruction, the so-called
"strappo" of the triumphal chariot, takes place. Everything happens within a few minutes; in a very
short time, everyone tries to remove a piece of the triumphal chariot or to rip off a piece of the
papier-mache picture of Our Lady and to bring it home, as a symbol of prosperity and good luck
for the coming year. This situation whips up the crowd into genuine and overwhelming
excitement.
The city is decorated with beautiful arches of lights that illuminate all the streets. The festival ends
in the late evening in the din of the fireworks that create a unique sight on the ancient districts of
the Sassi.
This celebration was institutionalized in the year 1389, but the residents of the city claim that its
beginnings date back to an earlier date.
Legend says that this ritual commemorates an event when the Saracens stole a statue of the Virgin
from Matera on one of their raids. Our Lady was recaptured, but the people of Matera decided to
prevent a recurrence of the theft by destroying the triumphal chariot necessary for Her transport.
So, every year, a new chariot is made again, larger, more elaborate, more beautiful, more elegant
and more sumptuous than the previous one.
This is a magnificent event if you are looking for a memory that will remain with you for life.

TEAM:
PORSIA VITTORIO
TACCARDI DAVIDE
VENTRELLI PAOLO
ZICARI SABRINA

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