Madonna della Lavina Feast and Sausage Festival

A festival that captures the soul of Cerami

The Madonna della Lavina Feast is the most significant religious and cultural event in Cerami, a hilltop village in the Province of Enna, on the edge of the Nebrodi Park. Every year on September 7th and 8th, the entire community gathers around the venerated icon of the Madonna, in a blend of centuries-old devotion, folk traditions, and conviviality that draws back many emigrants and visitors from neighboring towns.

The legend of the recovered icon

Tradition holds that around 1630, following torrential rains, a precious Byzantine icon was discovered in the waters of a stream. Legend says a mule miraculously knelt at the spot where the sacred image lay, allowing a farmer to find it. Since then, the Madonna has been called "della Lavina," from the local dialect term 'u lavinaru, meaning the stream. Popular devotion attributes numerous graces and miraculous healings to the sacred image. The ancient icon is kept in the Abbey of San Benedetto.

The processions of September 7th

The heart of the festival is September 7th. Early in the morning, a Eucharistic celebration concludes the novena, followed by the brass band parading through the village streets. In the late morning, the icon of the Madonna is carried in procession from the Sanctuary to the Mother Church, where a solemn mass is held. The sacred image is transported on the baialardu, a heavy ornate litter, on the bare shoulders of numerous bearers, preceded by characteristic laurel flags. In the late afternoon, solemn vespers are held at the Abbey of San Benedetto, and in the evening, the evocative procession returns the icon to the Sanctuary, with the participation of clergy, confraternities, civil and military authorities, and a traditional fireworks display.

The Sausage Festival

September 8th is dedicated to Eucharistic celebrations at the Sanctuary and the highly anticipated Sausage Festival, which transforms the streets of Cerami into a grand gastronomic celebration until late at night. The absolute stars are the local sausages grilled in traditional loggie, accompanied by roasted fava beans and the typical Cerami nougat. It is an opportunity to rediscover the genuine flavors of this corner of Sicily in an atmosphere of joy and sharing.

The lead-up to the event

The festivities are preceded by a long period of spiritual preparation. The novena begins on August 30th, accompanied by pilgrimages of the faithful to the Sanctuary of the Lavina. In the days leading up to the feast, the traditional collection takes place through the village streets, along with the characteristic town pilgrimage with a torchlight procession that reaches the Sanctuary from the Mother Church. In Cerami, Marian devotion is also renewed in the summer with the Feast of the Encounter, but it is in September that the community experiences its most intense moment.