Farnese. Feast of Our Lady of Grace

The Feast of Our Lady of Grace concludes the ‘Mariane’ celebrations on the last Sunday of May in Farnese.

On balconies and window sills are placed lines of lamps and lanterns to illuminate the nocturnal course of the procession on the way back from the sanctuary.

The procession passes on a carpet made of flowers, fragrant herbs, boxwood, and other flora.

At 18:30 the band comes to give a more solemn tone to the celebration.

The traditional story is that the effigy of Our Lady of Grace was carved in a boulder near the ruins of the destroyed city of Castro and brought to Farnese on a cart pulled by oxen in a solemn procession.

Having arrived in the district of Montefiano, the procession came to a halt, because the oxen would not go any further and the effigy was transported in arms up over the hill Sant'Umano.

The next morning the tuff block with the image of the Holy was again found in Montefiano.

This was considered a miracle and in 1695 they built a small temple as a shelter of the image.