Pilgrimage to Mattinella (Mattinella Festival)

A fifteen-kilometre journey in the heart of Alta Irpinia

The Pilgrimage to Mattinella, which everyone in Vallata simply calls the Mattinella Festival, is the most deeply rooted devotion in the Municipality of Vallata, a village in the Alta Irpinia area in the Province of Avellino, Campania. For centuries, this event has taken place on the last Saturday of May: pilgrims set off at the crack of dawn to walk about 15 kilometres—a four to five-hour trek through the fields and green hills of Irpinia—to reach the Sanctuary of Mary Most Holy, Morning Star, in the Mattinella hamlet of the neighbouring town of Andretta.

This is not a performance staged for tourists; it is a community ritual passed down through generations, involving entire families, from children to the elderly. Those unable to manage the fifteen-kilometre walk can still reach the sanctuary thanks to a free shuttle service provided by the Municipality.

A shared devotion between Vallata and Andretta

The festival belongs to two towns together. Local tradition tells of a statue of the Virgin found multiple times on the site where the sanctuary now stands, despite attempts to bring it to Vallata, and of the disputes between the two communities over its possession. Eventually, the image remained at Mattinella, but with its face turned towards Vallata, as if to guarantee its protection to the other town as well. Local historical research, particularly by Carmine Ziccardi, dates the origin of the cult to the second half of the 15th century, when the first temple was built; a 1664 plaque commemorates the protection invoked during the plague of 1656.

The bond between the two towns is renewed every year with a precise gesture: upon arriving at the sanctuary, the mayors and parish priests of Vallata and Andretta symbolically exchange sashes and stoles before the statue of the Madonna, confirming that the cult is shared.

The cart, the 'macchinette', and the fair

• The processional cart: the pilgrims from Vallata are welcomed by a decorated cart carrying the wooden statue of the Virgin, once pulled by a pair of oxen and today by a tractor.
• The 'macchinette': the traditional decorations of the festival, made with lilies, white ribbons, and beeswax candles, prepared according to a ritual that takes place throughout the month of May.
• The fair: an ancient fair, which has always accompanied the festivities, is held around the sanctuary on the same days.
• The evening procession in Vallata: in the evening, the devotion continues in the town with a procession featuring a twin statue of the Madonna.

The Sanctuary of Mary Most Holy, Morning Star

The sacred complex of Mattinella was already documented in the 15th century, during the time of Bishop Malizia Gesualdo, and was extensively remodelled at the beginning of the 19th century. The Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts were based there from 1842 until the suppression laws of 1866-1867; it became a parish in 1923 and a retirement home in 1962. Severely damaged by the 1980 earthquake, the building was restored and reopened for worship in December 2001, and was later elevated to a diocesan sanctuary in 2018. Inside, featuring a neoclassical layout with cylindrical brick vaults, the ancient 15th-century stucco image of the Virgin enthroned with the Child is preserved, while the presbytery is decorated with a false dome featuring stuccos, cherubs, and the figures of the four evangelists.

Why it is worth attending

The Mattinella is one of the most interesting religious events in Alta Irpinia and one of the propitiatory rites of May that still mark the life of these towns today. Visitors from outside will find an authentic pilgrimage, free from tourist artifice: the silence of the departure in the dark, the agricultural landscape lighting up with the morning sun, the arrival at the sanctuary, and the embrace between two communities that have been sharing and contending for the same Madonna for five centuries. The timing, the last weekend of May, is also the best moment to discover the hinterland of the Province of Avellino, between Vallata, Andretta, and the villages of Alta Irpinia.