Event: Italy

Feast of the Madonna of Good Counsel

When:	25 Apr 2008 (annual)
Where:	Genazzano
Costs:	Free
Opening Hours:	12pm

To mark the anniversary of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio, a procession takes place every year through the tiny village of Genazzano, offering an enjoyable glimpse of popular folkloric religion.

The church where the effigy rests today stands on the site of an ancient church from the 10th century. In 1356 it was entrusted to an Augustinian order, and about a century later an old widow named Petruccia donated a large sum of money for it to be restored. When funds turned out to be insufficient, she stoically proclaimed that the blessed virgin and St Augustin would provide...

As in fact they did. Less than a year after the old woman's prophetic utterance, on the feast day of St Mark, 25 April, an image of the Virgin is said to have miraculously appeared during mass, on one of the church walls. According to the register of miracles kept by local churchmen, 161 miracles were subsequently reported between 27 April and 14 August that year. Pope Paul II himself sent observers to take down the details of the miraculous story.

A local legend has it that the image was transported from a church in Skutara, Albania, where Christians were being persecuted by Muslims at the time. Albanians still make the pilgrimage to the little Italian church every year, addressing the Virgin by her archaic title, protectress and "Lady of Albania"...

These days the festival consists of historical reconstructions of the legend, as well as a broad programme of musical shows, popular games, lotteries, fireworks and markets, with stalls selling food and goods of various kinds.