Patronal Feast of Maria Santissima di Ripalta

The most cherished feast in Cerignola

The Patronal Feast of Maria Santissima di Ripalta is the beating heart of the Cerignola summer: a long blend of faith, popular tradition, and entertainment that involves the entire city of Cerignola, an important agricultural hub in the Capitanata area of the Foggia province, in the Tavoliere of Puglia. For days, the city center lights up with illuminations, fills with music, and gathers around its patron saint, solemnly celebrated on September 8th, the day of the Nativity of Mary.

The legend of the Madonna di Ripalta

The cult is rooted in a medieval legend linked to the Ofanto River. In a place called Ripa Alta — hence the name Ripalta — an ancient icon of the Virgin was reportedly found on the riverbank. According to popular lore, some woodcutters, believing they had a simple piece of firewood in their hands, struck the sacred image with an axe, causing it to bleed. Cerignola and Canosa long disputed the possession of the sacred effigy: to settle the matter, the painting was placed on an ox-drawn cart, which headed towards Cerignola three times, thus decreeing its belonging. In 1859, the Madonna di Ripalta was proclaimed the main patron saint of the city. Even today, the sacred icon spends half the year, from October to April, in the sanctuary on the banks of the Ofanto, and the other six months in the Cathedral of Cerignola.

The celebrations

The feast does not end in a single day: celebrations span ten days, between late August and early September. Alongside religious rites, there are civil and cultural initiatives — from extraordinary blood donations with Avis to bicycle rides, from photographic exhibitions on local history to the historical re-enactment of the icon's discovery. The streets of the center are illuminated by impressive artistic light displays, while fireworks displays close the most important evenings.

September 8th, the patron saint's day

The highlight is September 8th: from the morning, Holy Masses follow one another in the Cathedral, followed in the evening by the solemn pontifical and the long procession of the sacred icon through the streets of Cerignola, accompanied by thousands of faithful, marching bands, and fireworks. It is the moment when the entire community recognizes itself in its Marian devotion.

Music, shows, and community

The popular component of the feast is entrusted to major concerts in the square, comedy shows, and the traditional funfair, historically a true magnet for families. The Ripalta Feast remains one of the strongest identity-defining events in northern Puglia, capable of uniting the spiritual dimension with the convivial one in a single, great city celebration.