• GRUMO APPULA (BA)
• TERLIZZI (BA)
• CAPURSO (BA)
• CHIEUTI  (FG)
• TURI (BA)

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THE PARTY MACHINES

KEEP THE CROWD IN SUSPENSE

The festivities in honour of the patron saint St George Martyr in CHIEUTI (Fg), a small village in the hills close to Molise, are undoubtedly characteristic, with the 'Carrese' on 22 April, a unique race starring four wooden carts, each pulled by a pair of oxen, which, with the help of horses, cover a distance of around four kilometres from the countryside to the church in the town centre.

The prize for the winning wagon is to carry the simulacrum of the saint on its shoulders during the procession on 23 April, wearing a red headdress with a bow in the colour of its contrada. On this occasion, the 'Tarallo', a form of Podolian horse pastry weighing about eighty kilograms, is also paraded, which after being blessed is divided up and distributed to the entire population.

Still designed and made according to popular craft tradition are the 'festival machines', structures that will make you raise your eyes to the sky to admire all their grandeur. At the end of July in the hinterland of Bari, at the foot of the Bassa Murgia, in GRUMO APPULA (Ba) you can witness a unique spectacle.

For the feast of Our Lady of Graces in Mellitto, a hamlet only 7 km from the town, thousands and thousands of colourful tissue paper flowers, handmade by various Grumese families, adorn the beautiful votive carts drawn by horses harnessed in all their finery with leather, copper, fur and bells that parade through the small agricultural centre for the festival of the fields, offering all kinds of genuine products skilfully prepared by the town's housewives who hand down the secrets of how to make excellent 'strascenete'.

Also in the height of summer, in the 'city of flowers' of TERLIZZI (Ba), the Festa Maggiore in honour of the Madonna di Sovereto brings to the stage the imposing Triumphal Chariot that houses the icon of the Virgin. From dusk until evening, the 'festive machine' of eighteenth-century origin, more than 22 m high, parades through the streets of the centre, driven by the strength of 60 men and 4 helmsmen who guide the chariot, re-proposing Terlizzi's victory in the dispute with nearby Bitonto for the assignment of the icon.

Vivid is the emotional participation of the crowd that remains breathless when the float tackles the two sharp bends of the route. Not to be missed is a visit to the nearby village of Sovereto with its sanctuary and the grotto of the Marian apparition, a small jewel in the Middle Ages, a destination for pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land, which comes alive with patrons also attracted by the inevitable barbecues of meat and vegetables.

Just a few kilometres from Bari, in CAPURSO (Ba) - whose name, according to legend, derives from the head of a bear (caput ursi) killed in defence by the first inhabitants of the place - the feast of the Madonna del Pozzo takes place on the last Sunday in August: the night procession of the Triumphal Chariot dedicated to her, accompanied by almost two hundred figures in 18th-century dress and eight maidens dressed in white like angels, solemnly crosses the town centre and guards the icon of the Madonna.

It is a jubilation of lights, sounds and songs, but also flavours of typical products enhanced by good wine, which every year attracts pilgrims and believers who offer their strength to pull the cart.

Stay in the Bari area and stop in TURI (Ba), an agricultural centre famous for cherry cultivation and the patronal festival of Sant'Oronzo. On the last Sunday of August, at first light pilgrims walk to the saint's grotto to attend the votive mass and celebrations in the Mother Church.

This is followed by the 'Gala Procession' through the streets of the town, with cavalcades in historical costumes, flag-wavers, ancient town confraternities, and civil and military authorities. In the evening, it is the turn of the great Triumphal Chariot to carry the bust of the saint through the town: a wooden structure more than 14 metres high and 8 metres long, all decorated by local master cabinet-makers and pulled by six mules, amidst wings of cheering crowds.

In the main square, the float is then greeted by flower throws, balloons, fireworks and the music of the bands competing to the sound of notes.

photos by: N. Taranto / G. Palmisano / G. Armenio / F. De Chirico / B. Stragapede