Tag: black Madonna
-
The Madonna della Milicia
As you may have guessed, this first week in September in Sicily is bursting with feasts dedicated to the Madonna and the divine feminine. There’s a reason for this: It’s the end of the harvest season, and who do you want to recognize after a time of abundance, but Mother Earth for providing you with…
-
Here, She will Stay
Since last Sunday, the town of Custonaci in Trapani Province has been celebrating their venerated Madonna. The 10-day celebration concludes on Wednesday, August 31, when devotees process the portrait of Maria SS. di Custonaci through the City of Marble’s streets. Legend is, that in the early 15th century, a painting of the Virgin and Child…
-
She was Dark and Beautiful
This morning, a wish of mine was granted when we stopped in the town of Custonaci (Trapani Province) to visit the Sanctuary of Maria SS. di Custonaci. I wrote extensively about this Madonna–a Black Madonna–in August. You can read that post here. True to what many scholars who have studied the folklore of the Black…
-
Contemporary Art for an Ancient Icon
The spectacular and colorful Sanctuary, “il Santuario della Madonna del Tindari,” was built in the 20th century to accommodate the flow of pilgrims coming to see the iconic statue of Tindari’s “Madonna Bruna” or Black Madonna. This mural is from the dome above the church’s main altar. September 8 is the feast day in honor…
-
Celebrating the Black Madonna of Tindari
Thousands of pilgrims are expected on Monday, September 7 at the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Tindari. The town of Patti is even planning to close down one side of State Highway 113 to accommodate all the devotees expected to participate in the multiple masses, the solemn evening procession of the iconic Madonna Nera…
-
Erice and Custonaci’s Mother Goddess
This week of Ferragosto in Erice, they are venerating their patron saint, the Madonna di Custonaci (pictured), with their annual week-long Festa della Madonna. It’s important to know that Ferragosto is another name for The Assumption, the feast celebrating when the Virgin Mother ascended to Heaven. In other words, there are feasts for the Madonna…
-
Black Madonna at Castellamare del Golfo
Tucked away near the castle that gives Castellamare del Golfo its name is the Chiesa di Maria SS del Rosario, which is believed to have been built in such a secluded corner during the Norman era, circa 1100, to hide it from invading pirates. Inside is this alter devoted to the Madonna dell’Agnuni, or Madonna…
-
Ex-votos: Sacred Testimonials
At the sanctuary devoted to the Madonna della Milicia in Altavilla, pilgrims have offered ex-votos to the Virgin Mother. Ex-votos are iconographic body parts or other symbols that are given to the Madonna (That is, in this case. At other sacred sites, ex-votos would be offered to the divinity or saint celebrated there.) as gratitude…
-
Celebrating What Once Was and What Now Is
When immigrants from Tindari and Patti, Sicily came to New York at the turn of the 20th century, they brought with them the tradition of celebrating the Black Madonna or “Madonna Bruna.” Although East 13th Street has changed significantly in the last 50 years and Sicilians en masse no longer live in the East Village,…