Festival of Our Lady of the Star and the Nusazit

The Arbëresh heart of Val Sarmento

San Costantino Albanese is one of the Arbëresh communities in Basilicata, founded in the 16th century by Albanian refugees and still today a guardian of language, rites, and traditions of Balkan origin. Nestled in the Val Sarmento, in the province of Potenza, on the edge of the Pollino Park, the town finds the highest point of its collective identity in the feast of the Madonna della Stella (Our Lady of the Star). The term 'Kapelja' refers to both the sanctuary, the spiritual heart of the community, and the feast itself.

The Nusazit, an identity symbol

What makes this festival unique is the tradition of the Nusazit: anthropomorphic figures made of papier-mâché, dressed in traditional Albanian costumes — the bride and groom, two blacksmiths, and the devil — animated by firecrackers. On the morning of the feast, the puppets are lit and explode one after another: only when the last Nusaz explodes does the band strike up the music and the procession begins. Introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, the Nusazit have become over a century one of the strongest identity symbols of the Arbëresh community.

Devotion and spectacle

• Religious songs and liturgical moments of deep Marian devotion;
• The spectacular lighting of the pyrotechnic Nusazit;
• The procession of the effigy of Our Lady of the Star;
• Cultural events, such as the presentation of the book Kapelja by ethnomusicologist Nicola Scaldaferri, a native of the town.

A heritage to experience

The Festival of Our Lady of the Star is an experience that blends the sacred, spectacle, and memory of a people. Experienced between the sanctuary and the village streets, it reveals all the richness of the Arbëresh culture of Basilicata, a precious and still living intangible heritage.