Viggianello

Lying at the foot of the Pollino massif, in the Mercure Valley, we encounter the small village of Viggianello. Immersed in a fascinating and naturalistic setting and endowed with a pretty and well-preserved historical heart, it is its traditions that are the real protagonists of the essence of the place. The events not to be missed are: the celebrations for the patron saint, St Francis of Paola, who is celebrated with a propitiatory arboreal rite, including processions, songs and dances; the feast of the Madonna del Carmelo, in August, linked to the wheat harvest and the fertility of the fields, which includes offerings to the Virgin, rituals and dances the Good Friday procession, when the Stations of the Cross are re-enacted in all their drama; the pilgrimage to the Madonna dell'Alto, on the last Sunday in May and the first Sunday in September, full of spirituality and sentiment.