Feast of the Madonna Maria SS. of Miracles in Alcamo

Holy Mary, Our Lady of Miracles, is depicted holding the Child Jesus in her arms: the religious community turns to her, with love and devotion, during the Feast of the Madonna Maria SS. dei Miracoli in Alcamo, which has been repeated every year for centuries, in the month of June in the Sicilian town of the Free Municipal Consortium of Trapani, in Sicily.

The Simulacrum of the Virgin is carried in procession through the streets of Alcamo, during this day of great celebration, when evening arrives. The statue, adorned and crowned with a silver clasp with precious stones, is carried by the faithful through the streets of Alcamo and late in the evening it returns to the Mother Church.

Another symbolic place of the Festival is the Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Miracoli, where many faithful and also the civil authorities go on pilgrimage during the Patronal Feast: the descent to the Sanctuary is also followed by a Historical Parade, which sees the participants wearing traditional Sicilian clothes, before the Solemn Vespers.

The following day is a blaze of music, festive bells and fireworks, with which the faithful of Alcamo greet the Patron Saint, to whom they always turn, to ask for protection and to thank her for her intercession.

The history of the feast of the Madonna Maria SS. of Miracles in Alcamo

The festival has been celebrated for centuries: its origins are linked to a local legend, which also gave life to the Sanctuary, a pilgrimage destination. To know this story, we have to go back in time to June 21, 1547, a precise date, the one that links the community of Alcamo to the Madonna dei Miracoli.

On this day, the legend tells that some women were intent on washing clothes in the waters of a stream, when they were hit by a shower of stones from the nearby wood. Astonished, however, the women realized that something miraculous was happening around them: the stones, hitting them, did not cause wounds, but incredibly healed their pains.
The women returned to the village, telling how much they had lived and the authorities then decided to cut down all the trees in the forest, until they found a stone, on which it was clearly visible a fresco.
A portrait of the Madonna with the Child Jesus. The inhabitants of Alcamo began to call this stone and the fresco with the name of Madonna Source of Mercy and so the authorities decided to build a sanctuary in that place, which then took the name of Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Miracoli.

When the party takes place

The festival takes place on June 21, to commemorate every year the miraculous event that happened in the woods in 1547.
A few days before the Feast, starting from 18 or 19 June, the faithful begin to prepare for the celebrations.

Where the party takes place

The Festival takes place in the Mother Church of Alcamo, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Piazza 4 Novembre, along the streets of the city crossed by the Procession and in the Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Miracoli, just outside the town, in Via Longarico.

What to do during the party

The Feast of the Madonna Maria SS. dei Miracoli is a religious and popular event in which all tourists who wish can take part, by going to Mass and following the Procession, or by following the pilgrimage routes, arriving as far as the Sanctuary, for a moment of prayer.

Those who are in Alcamo in this period can also visit the delightful town which boasts numerous ancient churches in its historic centre, such as the Church of San Tommaso from the famous gothic portal or the Church of the Jesuit College, but also beautiful civil constructions, such as the Palace and the De Ballis Tower or military architectures such as the imposing one Castle of the Counts of Modicaof medieval origins.

It is advisable to stay a few days in the centre, to be able to admire all the artistic beauties that Alcamo can offer to visitors, with the addition of an ingredient not to be underestimated: the delicious Sicilian cuisine, with its local dishes such as caponata and milinciani arrustuti, only to name a few dishes that make your mouth water.

From Alcamo you can reach the large sandy and never crowded beach in the seaside district of the city, to relax in the sun, or you can head towards larger centres, such as Trapani or Palermo, where you can admire architectural beauties such as the Castello di Venere, the Saline Reserve of Trapani Paceco and the Sanctuary of Maria SS. Annunziata in Trapani or the Palatine Chapel, the Capuchin Catacombs, the Church of San Cataldo and the Mirto Palace in Palermo.
A real tour of the wonders that starts from Alcamo, to be discovered by those who participate in the Feast of the Madonna Maria SS. of miracles.

How it is possible to get to Alcamo

Alcamo is located in the Libero Municipal Consortium of Trapani, just 54 km from the city, in north-western Sicily, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Reaching the center is easy, by car or by train.
Those who prefer the car can take the A29 Palermo-Mazara del Vallo to the exit for Alcamo Est or Ovest, about 4 km from the centre; by train, get off at Punta Raisi Station, and continue for the next 26 km by bus or shuttle.

© ph Lorenzo Gigante taken from the site www.trapaninostra.it, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons