In October 2024, one of the prettiest festivals in the Province of Viterbo took place, the one dedicated to the Madonna of the Rosary of Piansano, a delightful village where the beauty of the place, preserved intact over time, and the love for its traditions , make the atmosphere that one breathes during this annual event absolutely unique and incomparable. In the first weekend of October 2024, the first annual day of celebration dedicated to the Most Holy Virgin of the Rosary took place, a beautiful tradition that has been repeated for around three centuries and which always is very moving. The faithful people of Piansanesi, from the early morning, prepare for this most beautiful and important celebration. Children, adults, elderly people, everyone is in church for her, with the cry “Viva Maria!” which rises high and strong towards the sky towards the Virgin Protectress.
The most solemn event in the Piansanese tradition is represented by the Ascent of the Madonna of the Rosary, which takes place on the Friday before the first Sunday of October. Like every year, on 4 October 2024 the entire parish community of Piansano is in church, to experience this beautiful moment of prayer and popular devotion. The highest civil and military authorities of the territory are also present, starting with the Prefect, the Police Commissioner, the Mayor and the representatives of the Carabinieri, the Army and the Guardia di Finanza, as well as the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, the porters (the Porters of Our Lady of the Rosary, who wear a white stole with a light blue band and Marian monogram), the associations, the representatives of the Mauritian International Academy and, led by the Vice Delegate, Nob. Sandro Calista, Constantinian Knight of Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star, a representative of the Delegation of Tuscia and Sabina of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, traditionally invited to one of the most important Marian events of the Diocese of Viterbo, in a distinct place on the sides of the presbytery.
The ceremony, presided over by the Bishop Emeritus of Viterbo, the Most Reverend Lino Fumagalli, Chaplain Grand Cross of Merit of the Constantinian Order, does not have a precise beginning. It is spontaneous, like the love that binds a people to their protector.
The Rosary recited by the Parish Priest Father Andrea Mareschi was intense and participatory, the prayers were intimate, the songs were traditional, the church was illuminated for a celebration that embodies history, faith, culture and, indeed, tradition. Then, the singing of the Loreto litanies rose. Everyone turned their gaze upwards, to the top of the main altar where the splendid stand that will welcome the Madonna is already positioned, an ancient and sumptuous wooden canopy embellished with lacquer and coloured inlays.
There is an air of waiting, of prayer, of celebration, while those controlling the stand continue their operations: they arrange two long wooden beams obliquely on the altar which fit into those that support the canopy above. The faithful accompany every moment of the preparation of the structure on which the stand will descend, until it lands gently on the ground. The Virgin is invoked with the expressions of faith, poetry and spirituality that generations of musicians, authors and poets have developed and our ancestors have handed down. Mira il tuo popolo o beautiful Lady is also sung, an invocation for help, protection and intercession, which is used to sing in many villages during processions.
Here the platform moves, slowly begins the descent, almost imperceptible at first. When the platform – lit by light bulbs – rests lightly on the ground, the ceremony enters its phase of most intense participation.
A short procession of ecclesiastics, led by the Bishop, descends from the presbytery and, walking along the central nave, heads towards the small sacristy near the entrance to the church. The procession is preceded by the “Sacraments”, that is, the acolytes of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament in their traditional white habit tied at the waist and red mozzetta with silver shield. Once in front of the sacristy, “the Sacraments” stand aside to open the way for the ecclesiastics who enter.
The Bishop gathered in prayer with only the priests inside the niche where the sacred effigy is located. An intimate and private moment where the Bishop prayed to the Madonna for some personal intentions.
Finally, the statue of the Madonna of the Rosary comes out and travels along the nave, and, among the hymns of the faithful, it is placed on the canopy which will be hoisted again, as in a miraculous ascent, above the tabernacle. It will go out in solemn procession, only on the Sunday of the festival, to bless the streets of the village.
Then came the culminating moment of the celebration, with the Ascent of the Madonna of the Rosary who returned triumphant to her throne above the main altar. The cry “Long live Mary!” rises again high and strong to the sky towards the Virgin who looks at her people, the faithful who venerate her, bow and entrust themselves to her.
The concelebration of the Holy Mass was presided over by Bishop Lino Fumagalli. In front of the altar, with their joy and liveliness, sit the children who will receive their First Communion.
