It was July 2, 1380, when Pope Urban VI established in Matera the feast of “the Visitation,” now known as the “Feast of the Madonna Bruna. But it is from the 16th century onwards that the feast adopts its pagan nature as it has been handed down to this day.
The highlight of the celebrations is on July 2 with the assault on the triumphal cart carrying the Madonna, made of papier-mâché. In fact, this “sacrilege” occurs right after the statue of the Madonna has been brought to the cathedral. It is then that the people seize some elements adorning the cart.
Every year the ritual repeats and every year, the papier-mâché artists of Matera take great pride in creating the triumphal cart, which is shown to the public on the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29), the date when the celebrations in honor of the protector of the city of the “Sassi” begin.
![](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fulltravel.it%2Fen%2Ffeast-of-the-bruna-in-matera%2F&media=
https://www.fulltravel.it/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Strazzo-del-Carro-di-Matera-durante-la-Festa-della-Bruna.jpg &description=It was July 2, 1380, when Pope Urban VI established in Matera the feast of "the Visitation," now known as the "Feast of the Madonna Bruna. But it is from the 16th century onwards that the feast adopts its pagan nature as it has been handed down to this day.){kind=link}