As every year, the traditional firing of firecrackers between Aug. 29 marked the start of the religious solemnity in Lanciano, with the Novena of Our Lady of the Bridge, and Sept. 1 the start of the civil program, the September Festivals, inextricably linked to the heart of the Abruzzo city, dominated by the Cathedral and the imposing Civic Tower.The ritual flag-raising on this tower is underlain by the popular belief that entrusts the direction of the flag with the weather forecast during the festivities: if it faces the sea there will be good weather, if it looks to the mountains the weather will be bad.
The Festivities include a rich program of concerts in the square, tournaments, exhibitions, theater and cabaret performances, and events for all ages, this year also with the novelty of “silent”, low-noise fireworks displays, and with illuminations that will light up Corso Trento e Trieste to the sound of music.
A special month to discover the ancient city of the Frentani, Gold Medal for Military Valor in World War II and famous throughout Italy for the Eucharistic Miracle, with its historic center dense with evidence of the Roman and medieval past. It is precisely to this past that the “Medieval Week” is dedicated, culminating on Sunday, September 7, with the traditional historical procession of the Mastrogiurato, the figure who administered justice from the early 14th century in this town, where the most important fair in the Kingdom of Naples was held. This year the traditional celebration, with the Tenzone dei Quartieri on Saturday, Sept. 6, and the Investiture of the Mastrogiurato, will be held at the Parco delle Rose, in the same place designated for fairs in medieval times.
Celebrations in honor of Our Lady of the Bridge will instead come into full swing between Sept. 14 and 16, with the traditional vigil, considered the oldest“White Night,” dating back to as far as 1833. On this date, two local priests walked to the Vatican to take delivery of the golden crowns destined for the Statue of the Virgin and Child, which is located in the Cathedral dedicated to Our Lady, built on the ancient Diocletian Bridge. The people of Lanciano, upon hearing the news of the delegation’s return with the gifts, did not know how to wait and many wanted to join them in Castel Frentano, escorting the crowns until they arrived at the church of Santa Chiara in Lanciano at two o’clock in the morning.
CURIOSITY.
The Church of Our Lady of the Bridge is so named because it is built over a three-arched bridge (the Diocletian Bridge). In 1088, while restoring the Bridge after an earthquake, an ancient statue of the Madonna and Child was found: the event, believed to be miraculous, led to the renaming of this icon Madonna del Ponte, and a chapel was built to guard it on the bridge itself. Growing popular devotion led, at the end of the 14th century, to the construction of a church in place of the chapel that covered the bridge entirely; the church visible today was built around 1788, with the façade remaining unfinished at the top. The vault and domes are frescoed. The statue of Our Lady of the Bridge is located in a niche in the center of the high altar.
