Feast of the Blessed Virgin of Grappa

A celebration of faith and memory

The Feast of the Blessed Virgin of Grappa is held every year on August 4th in Tuglie, a small town in the lower Salento area in the province of Lecce, in the Puglia region. The heart of the festival is the sanctuary that stands atop Montegrappa hill, a modest elevation overlooking the town to the northwest at an altitude of about 150 meters. Here, popular devotion and historical memory intertwine in one of the most heartfelt traditions of the Tugliese community.

The origins: the veterans' vow

The festival has its roots in World War I. The hill, originally called simply the Montagna (The Mountain), was renamed Montegrappa between 1938 and 1940 by local veterans who had fought on the Grappa massif in Veneto. They were led by Dr. Cesare Vergine, a former mayor and veteran, who in 1938 wished to fulfill a vow made to the Madonna del Grappa during the conflict. In just three months, in 1940, the small circular church was built, flanked by a memorial park and a shrine dedicated to the fallen, completed in 1948.

The mutilated Madonna

At the center of the devotion is the memory of an event that occurred on January 14, 1918: an Austrian grenade struck the statue of Mary Help of Christians venerated by soldiers on Monte Grappa, damaging its left side, arm, and part of the Child, without injuring the soldiers gathered in prayer in the nearby chapel. That mutilated image became a symbol of protection. The wooden statue now kept in the sanctuary of Tuglie was carved in 1958 by the artist Franz Senoner from Val Gardena, replacing a previous papier-mâché effigy. The bell tower was inaugurated on August 5, 1954, by the Bishop of Nardò.

The festival today

On August 4th, the community gathers around the sanctuary for the solemn mass and the procession that climbs the hill's staircase, marked by the stations of the Via Crucis. The secular side accompanies the religious one with a brass band concert, the traditional luminarie (light displays) that illuminate the town streets, stalls, and a fireworks display that closes the day. The festival is part of the wider summer program of the Municipality of Tuglie, which enlivens the Salento town every year with dozens of events between July and October.

A bridge between Puglia and Veneto

The Tuglie tradition preserves a unique identity: while the liturgical feast of Mary Help of Christians is celebrated elsewhere on May 24th, in Tuglie it is August 4th that forever binds this corner of Salento to Monte Grappa and the sacrifice of its veterans. Climbing to the sanctuary, among the olive trees and the view over the Salento Serra, means sharing a story of faith, war, and community that continues to renew itself from generation to generation.