Festa della Madonna del Piano

A festival dating back to the 16th century

At the foot of the Pollino mountains, in the Sinni Valley, the village of Episcopia preserves one of the oldest and most fascinating folk festivals in Basilicata: the Festa della Madonna del Piano, celebrated every year on August 4th and 5th. The tradition is linked to the discovery, around the 16th century, of the statue of the Madonna inside a hollow oak tree during the harvest season: hence the inseparable bond between the cult and wheat.

The scythe dance

The most exciting moment is the ancient scythe dance: devotees, in traditional costume (the 'pacchianelli' and 'pacchianelle'), dance holding wooden scythes on the churchyard of the sanctuary. Men offer the gregne, sheaves of wheat, to the Madonna, while women wear the scigli, woven crowns of ears of corn: gestures that transform the harvest into a votive offering and thanksgiving for prosperity.

The procession

After the solemn Mass, the wooden statue of the Madonna del Piano — depicted with a mantle adorned with stars — is carried in procession, accompanied by the band and the devotion of an entire community. The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Piano, located about three kilometers from the town, becomes the heart of a day of faith, music, and folk dances.

Memory and identity

Documented even in newsreels by the Istituto Luce in the 1920s and 1930s, the Episcopia festival is a living heritage of Lucanian peasant culture. Celebrated by the Municipality and the entire community, it draws residents and returning emigrants every summer in a rite that blends the sacred and the profane, earth and sky, work and devotion.