Madonna di Acquaviva Festival

A celebration between the village and the sea

The Madonna di Acquaviva Festival is one of the most beloved and characteristic traditions of lower Salento. It is celebrated in Marittima, a tiny and charming hamlet in the Municipality of Diso, in the province of Lecce—a village perched on a promontory just a stone's throw from the Adriatic coast, rich in ancient palaces and characteristic alleys. The festival combines popular devotion with one of the most beautiful natural settings in the area: Cala dell'Acquaviva, an inlet that owes its name to the numerous freshwater springs that emerge among the rocks, with its clear, cobalt-hued waters.

The legend of the Madonna of Constantinople

The cult is rooted in a legend deeply felt by the community. It is said that around 1600, the parish priest of Marittima, Father Domenico Coluccia, saw a bright glow near the woods and, together with the faithful, discovered a stone slab bearing the image of the Madonna and Child. A votive shrine was built to house the image, followed by a chapel for public devotion. Tradition holds that the stone mysteriously returned to the place of its discovery three times: interpreting this as divine will, the community built the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli right there, part of an ancient Franciscan convent, which still houses the stone fresco today.

The sea procession

The most spectacular and defining element of the festival is the sea procession. After the solemn mass, the image of the Virgin is placed on a boat and carried along the coast from Marina di Marittima to the evocative Cala dell'Acquaviva, in a procession of boats accompanying the Madonna amidst prayers and hymns. Upon returning, the faithful participate in an evening candlelight procession that brings the icon back to its sanctuary, while traditional pizzica salentina music and dance enliven the village. The day concludes with a fireworks display over the sea.

In the heart of the Adriatic Salento

Marittima and Cala dell'Acquaviva are located within the Costa Otranto-Santa Maria di Leuca and Bosco di Tricase Regional Natural Park, not far from Castro and Otranto, in one of the wildest and most fascinating stretches of the Apulian coast. Participating in the Madonna di Acquaviva Festival means experiencing an authentic Salento tradition, where popular faith intertwines with the landscape, the sea, and the music of the Salento land.