The Black Madonna is a wooden statue covered in gold from the 6th century, depicting a Madonna with a baby boy. It was proclaimed Queen and Patroness of Basilicata by Pope John Paul II. The story goes that in wartime the statue belonged to the city of Grumentum, and that, following its destruction, the clergy decided to hide this precious Madonna on the top of Mount Viggiano.
Some centuries later, the statue was rediscovered and its Sanctuary was built around it. On the first Sunday of May, it is carried on the shoulders of groups of devotees, starting from the Mother Church, through a religious procession along a 12 km route that leads to the top of the Sacred Mount where the Sanctuary is located, where it resides for the whole summer period, until the first Sunday of September, when the same route takes place to bring it back inside the Mother Church.
All the citizens of the neighbouring towns take part in this event, offering lilies, that is a composition of candles and flowers that are offered in honour of the Madonna. These two annual days are celebrated not only through the procession, but also with a great folkloric feast.
