Maggio di Accettura (Matrimonio degli Alberi)

The most famous arboreal rite in Basilicata

In Accettura, a small village in the province of Matera nestled within the Gallipoli Cognato Park and the Lucanian Dolomites, one of Italy's most important arboreal rites is celebrated every year: the so-called marriage of the trees. Hailed as one of the most beautiful festivals in the Mediterranean, it is an ancestral and propitiatory rite where a large trunk and the top of another tree, symbolically the "groom" and "bride", are joined and raised in the centre of the village.

The groom and the bride

The protagonists are two different trees. The groom is the Maggio, a large oak (Turkish oak) felled in the woods of Montepiano. The bride is the Cima, a holly from the forest of Gallipoli Cognato. The choice of the two plants takes place in spring, on the Sundays after Easter, when the most experienced "maggiaioli" (participants in the rite) roam the woods, scrutinize the crowns, test the trunks, and identify the straightest and most majestic tree.

From the woods to the square

The heart of the festival is the transport: the Maggio is dragged from the woods to the village by the strength of oxen and men, in a collective effort lasting hours along dirt roads and winding paths. Separately, the Cima is carried by hand. The two processions converge in the village, where the Cima is grafted onto the Maggio: the thus composed tree is then raised in the square using ropes and poles, in a spectacle of tension and skill. The bravest climb to the top to reach the prizes hanging there.

San Giuliano, patron saint of the village

The entire event is dedicated to San Giuliano Martire (Saint Julian the Martyr), the patron saint of Accettura. According to local archives, the cult of the Saint has been present since 1725, the year he became the protector of the village. The religious dimension, with the solemn procession of the Saint, thus merges with the pagan and arboreal one, in a unique blend of faith, nature, and popular tradition passed down through centuries.

• Choice of the Maggio (oak) in the Montepiano woods
• Choice of the Cima (holly) in the Gallipoli Cognato forest
• Transport by oxen and by hand to the village
• Joining and raising of the tree in the square
• Climbing the tree and procession of San Giuliano

The Maggio di Accettura is not just a festival, but an identity heritage in which every inhabitant plays a role: one of the most intense and authentic experiences that Basilicata has to offer.