Patronal Feast of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio (Venere dei Marsi)

The patronal feast of Venere dei Marsi

The Patronal Feast of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio is the most anticipated event of the year for Venere dei Marsi, a village in the Municipality of Pescina, in the province of L'Aquila, in the heart of the Abruzzo Marsica region. It is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of September and represents the moment when the entire community of the village, nestled at about 735 meters above sea level on the eastern edge of the Fucino plain, gathers around its patron saint.

The sanctuary and the cult

The heart of the festival is the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio, which stands in the upper part of the town. According to tradition, the building was constructed around the mid-16th century on a site with ancient roots: here, in Roman times, the Marsi and Romans are said to have erected a temple dedicated to Venus Myrtea to seal a peace treaty, also giving rise to the name of the locality. Over the centuries, the sanctuary has become a destination for pilgrimages, especially during periods of crisis such as the epidemics of the 17th century. Destroyed by the devastating 1915 Marsica earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1949 and restored several times, most recently after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. In 2022, on the initiative of the Festival Committee, a new statue of the Madonna, crafted by master artisans from San Gregorio Armeno, was installed.

Rites, procession, and program

The festival intertwines religious and civil dimensions. The highlight is the solemn procession with the statue of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio through the streets of the village, accompanied by the band, the faithful, and the confraternities, amidst decorations, illuminations, and flower carpets. Alongside the sacred rites, the program traditionally includes musical evenings in the square, performances, social moments, and the typical fireworks that signal the conclusion of the festivities. The organization is entrusted to the Venere dei Marsi Festival Committee, a very active entity in the life of the town, also committed to charitable and cultural initiatives for the community.

A village in the Marsica to discover

Participating in the festival is also an opportunity to get to know Venere dei Marsi and the surrounding territory, between the municipalities of Gioia dei Marsi, Ortucchio, and Trasacco, in an area rich in history linked to the ancient Fucino basin. The September recurrence ideally closes the village's summer season and keeps alive an identity bond that is passed down from generation to generation, in the best tradition of Abruzzo's patronal feasts.