Patronal Feast of Maria SS. della Catena and Saint Michael the Archangel

Librizzi's most cherished festival

In the heart of the Nebrodi mountains, in the province of Messina, the small town of Librizzi experiences its most intense moment every summer with the Patronal Feast of Maria SS. della Catena and Saint Michael the Archangel. The event traditionally falls on the first Sunday after Ferragosto (August 15th), drawing back emigrants, families, and visitors from nearby inland towns. More than just a religious celebration, it is a rite of identity that the Sicilian Region has inscribed in its Register of Intangible Heritage.

The Gagini statue and the legend of 1540

The absolute protagonist is the marble statue of the Madonna della Catena, approximately 148 cm tall and attributed to the famous Gagini school, dating back to around 1540. Tradition holds that a delegation from three towns—Librizzi, Sorrentini, and Gioiosa Guardia—traveled to Palermo to choose a statue, and fate decreed that the Gagini masterpiece would go to Librizzi. During transport, the ox-drawn cart stopped in the Maisale area because the statue had become extraordinarily heavy: it only resumed its journey when a shepherd began playing his zampogna (bagpipe), causing the wheels to turn once more toward the town.

The procession and the miracle of the ciaramedda

The heart of the festival is the procession. The Madonna's statue is carried on a decorated wooden fercolo by twenty-four strictly barefoot bearers, preceded by the Neapolitan-style wooden statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, the parish's patron, also carried barefoot by local youths. The fercolo is adorned with precious crowns, votive offerings, a blue mantle, and monetary gifts attached with ribbons. During the procession, the bearers stop at an ancient walnut tree, where the cart historically stalled: they step backward until the ciaramedda player begins his song, and only then does the march resume to the cry of «Viva Maria».

Mass, music, and fireworks

The solemn day begins with Holy Mass celebrated in Piazza Catena and the coronation of the Madonna; in the afternoon, the long procession winds through the town streets, accompanied by a marching band. The festival concludes in the evening with a musical performance in the square and the unmissable fireworks display, which illuminates the rooftops of the Nebrodi village. The town center comes alive with stalls, festive lights, and the aromas of traditional Messina cuisine.

An intangible heritage of the Nebrodi

Devotion to the Madonna della Catena, widespread throughout Sicily, finds one of its most authentic and deep-rooted expressions in Librizzi. For visitors, it is an opportunity to discover a village in the Messina hinterland far from the usual tourist routes, where popular faith, the music of the bagpipes, and gestures passed down through generations tell the profound soul of the province of Messina and Sicily.