Festival of Maria SS. degli Angeli in Quasano

A patronal festival in the heart of the Bari Murgia

The Festival of Maria SS. degli Angeli in Quasano is the most anticipated devotional event of the year in Toritto, a town in the Province of Bari, located in the Murgia hinterland of Puglia. Every year, around the third Sunday of June, the town and its small hamlet of Quasano—a village of a few hundred inhabitants overlooking the Alta Murgia National Park—gather around the venerated image of the Madonna degli Angeli.

The legend of the discovery

The devotion is rooted in a legend typical of Southern Italy: it is said that two oxen, while plowing the fields of Quasano, knelt before the earth, revealing the sacred image hidden beneath the soil. From this tale stems the deep bond between the festival, faith, and the farming world, which remains at the heart of the celebration's rites and symbols today.

The "Trionfo" and the pilgrimage

A key moment is the transport of the so-called "Trionfo", the historic painting of the Madonna, carried on the shoulders of the faithful during a pilgrimage on foot of about nine kilometers that connects Toritto to Quasano. During the novena days, the Mother Church of San Nicola hosts the Rosary and Holy Masses, preparing the community for the solemn days.

The decorated floats and the "Conta"

The most spectacular and defining feature is the parade of about twenty tractor-floats decorated with flowers, handcrafted by devotees. At dawn on Sunday, the traditional "Conta" takes place, a ritual draw that determines which float will have the honor of accompanying the Trionfo and which will distribute the panelle, the blessed braided bread that recalls the ancient agricultural culture of the area. The awarding of the floats and the great evening procession through the streets of Quasano complete the most intense day.

Band, illuminations, and fireworks

• Music: the "Nuove Armonie" Cultural and Musical Association band of Toritto accompanies the processions; on the final evenings, live music groups perform in the square.
• Artistic illuminations along the streets of the town center and the hamlet.
• Fireworks at the end of the solemn day.
• Flavors: the distribution of panelle and gastronomic moments linked to the typical products of the Murgia.

A return to roots

The festival coincides with the beginning of summer and the return of many Toritto emigrants: the devotion to the Madonna di Quasano, also widespread among Puglian communities in North America and Brazil, makes these days a great reunion for the entire community of Toritto and for visitors discovering an authentic corner of inland Puglia.