CELEBRATIONS OF
MADONNA DELLA MADIA

So runs the tradition: an image of the Virgin escaped the sack of Constantinople by the Turks perpetrated in 1117, and the night of 16 December arrived intact by sea to Monopoli, thanks to a ship of fortune to which it was attached. During the festival this raft(still preserved in the Cathedral) is distributed in small fragments to the faithful. At the end, the divers with torches lighting up the sea in transparency and fireworks in the sky, becomes a scene of beauty and charm unique.