Return of the Madonna della Mazza to the Hermitage

A ritual that marks the summer in Pretoro

The Return of the Madonna della Mazza to the Hermitage is one of the most deeply rooted religious traditions of Pretoro, a small medieval village in the province of Chieti, Abruzzo, included in the circuit of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy and nestled on the eastern slopes of the Majella. Every year, on the first Sunday of July, the community accompanies the statue of the Virgin in a procession from the village to her mountain hermitage, at an altitude of about one thousand meters. In 2026, the recurrence falls on Sunday, July 5th.

The tradition of the two months in the village

The devotional cycle begins on the last Sunday of April, when the inhabitants take the statue from the sanctuary and bring it to the parish church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo, in the heart of the village. Here, the Madonna remains for about two months, the object of daily devotion by the people of Pretoro. On the first Sunday of July, the opposite gesture is performed: the statue is escorted back in procession along the mountain paths to the hermitage from which it started, ideally closing the cycle of the liturgical year linked to the Virgin.

The statue and the sanctuary

On the altar of the hermitage is kept a 15th-century wooden statue depicting the Madonna and Child: the Virgin holds a scepter in her right hand, the "mazza" (mace) from which the entire complex takes its name. The sanctuary, originally known as Santa Maria del Monte, appears in ecclesiastical documents as early as 1324 as a possession of the Cistercian abbey of Santa Maria d'Arabona. Reduced to ruins at the beginning of the 19th century, it was restored and returned to worship in 1843, the year from which the tradition of the procession resumed continuously.

Legends and popular beliefs

The ritual is shrouded in stories handed down from generation to generation. The most well-known legend tells of an anomalous snowfall that fell on Pretoro in the middle of summer, on July 2nd, which would have prevented the procession: the Madonna, it is said, returned to the sanctuary on the mountains by herself, leaving her own footprints imprinted on the snow. Another story claims that the image, found near a tree and brought to the village, miraculously reappeared in its place of origin. Stories that, beyond the data of faith, testify to the deep bond between the community and its mountain.

The village and the Majella

Pretoro preserves its medieval triangular layout that narrows as it climbs upwards, with alleys, artisan workshops, and the museum dedicated to woodworking and local traditions. The procession of the Madonna della Mazza is part of the Pretoro summer calendar and offers residents and visitors the opportunity to discover an authentic corner of inland Abruzzo, amidst spirituality, the nature of the Majella National Park, and peasant culture.