Infiorata and May Festival of Maria SS. Grande ed Eccelsa

A carpet of flowers for the Madonna

Every year, on the third Sunday of May, the village of Casanova di Carinola, in the municipality of Carinola (Caserta province, Campania), celebrates its most cherished day: the May Festival in honor of Maria SS. Grande ed Eccelsa. The highlight is the Infiorata of Via Grancelsa, the road leading to the Marian sanctuary: a long carpet of hand-picked petals, leaves, seeds, and flowers that covers the entire street with predominantly sacred designs.

Devotion and the Grancelsa Sanctuary

The festival is rooted in ancient devotion, linked to the discovery of an effigy of the Madonna in a cave on the nearby Monte Massico, venerated as miraculous and protective. The very name of the Grancelsa Sanctuary, according to local tradition, comes from the contraction of "Grande ed Eccelsa" (Great and Exalted) and is intertwined with the legend of a mulberry tree planted by friars and the tale of the "enchanted goat," folk stories that still accompany the memory of the site. During the festival, the statue of the Madonna is carried in procession from the sanctuary to the church and back, passing directly over the floral carpet, which is symbolically consumed by her passage.

The ephemeral art of the Infiorata

The tradition of the Infiorata as we know it today began in 1983, when residents of Via Grancelsa decided to pay homage to their Madonna by decorating the street with flowers. Since then, the initiative has grown year after year, with increasingly elaborate stencils, designs, and the use of diverse natural materials: in addition to colorful petals, leaves, seeds, coffee grounds, green myrtle, barley, and other plant elements are used. Preparation requires weeks of work and culminates on the night before the Sunday, when dozens of volunteers—children, youth, and the elderly—work side by side to complete the panels before dawn.

A community celebration

• When: The third Sunday of May, with the floral carpet ready at dawn and the procession in the morning.
• Where: Via Grancelsa and the Sanctuary of the Madonna Grande ed Eccelsa, in Casanova di Carinola.
• Who: The parish, the Confraternity of Maria SS. delle Grazie, and dozens of local volunteers, coordinated annually by citizen committees.
• What to see: The floral panels along the street (sixteen were counted in 2025), the procession, and the atmosphere of reflection and celebration that unites the entire community.

More than just an event, the Infiorata of Casanova di Carinola is a ritual of popular participation that weaves together faith, ephemeral art, and local identity, drawing visitors from across the Aurunca region and the province of Caserta.