Festival of Maria SS. Annunziata

A festival born from the sweat of the miners

The Festival of Maria SS. Annunziata is the patronal feast of Acquaviva Platani, a village in the hinterland of the Nisseno area in the province of Caltanissetta, in the heart of Sicily. The devotion dates back to the late 19th century, when a man named Salvatore Mendola had a small votive shrine erected on a hill dedicated to the Virgin Annunziata, in memory of his wife, Nunzia. In the 1920s, workers from the nearby rock salt mine restored the shrine and replaced the original image with a statue group depicting the kneeling Madonna and the Archangel Gabriel. From this deep bond with the miners comes the nickname by which the locals still call their patron saint today: the "Madonna di li salinari".

The miners' processional float

It was the miners themselves who commissioned the artistic fercolo (processional float) from local sculptor Luigi Maniscalco in 1927, upon which the statue of the Annunziata is still carried in procession today. The first major celebrations organized by the miners date back to 1930. For the rest of the year, the statue is kept in the Cappella della Guardiola, in the district of the same name, and it returns there at the end of the festivities in a moving farewell ritual that concludes the event.

Three days of celebration

The festivities unfold over the weekend culminating in the third Sunday of August, usually starting from the preceding Friday, and are preceded by a three-day prayer triduum in the Mother Church. The highlight of the day begins at dawn with cannon fire and the parade of the brass band and tammurinari through the streets of the town, while the traditional maschiata (fireworks display) rings out around 11 a.m. In the afternoon, the solemn procession of the fercolo begins along the so-called "strata de' santi", the traditional route of the village.

The Madonna's farewell and the fireworks

The most intense moment occurs when the float reaches the main square: amidst the emotion of the faithful, the Madonna seems to "greet" the town while the band plays the Ave Maria. In the evening, the festival lights up with shows and music in the square and concludes with fireworks, before the statue returns to the Cappella della Guardiola. In the past, popular games like the 'ntinna (greasy pole) and pignateddri (breaking the pots) were also part of the tradition.

The miner's dish

The festival is also a gastronomic occasion: visitors can taste the famous piatto del salinaro, a savory chickpea soup that recalls the humble yet hearty cuisine of the mine workers, an authentic symbol of the identity of Acquaviva Platani.