Just a few days before Christmas and the reenactment of the miraculous landing of the Icon of the Madonna della Madia, the celebrations in honor of Saint Lucy usher in an intimate festive atmosphere. Near the small church dedicated to the Holy Martyr of Syracuse, on Via Cavour, tradition holds that from the afternoon of the previous day a market is set up, filled with Christmas decorations for the tree, the nativity scene, and the home, toys for children, flowers, handcrafted creations, and above all the typical “coccherìdde”: small terracotta objects that, according to tradition, a young man was expected to give to his future wife and mother-in-law, just as it was customary for a daughter-in-law to present one to her own mother-in-law.

On the longest night of the year, many faithful gather to pay homage to the Protectress of sight, invoking her intercession. The feast of Saint Lucy is also linked to a once widespread custom of preparing typical figure-eight-shaped sweets known as “the eyes of Saint Lucy.”

Every year, on the night of January 11, the tradition of the fanove (large bonfires) is rekindled in the town center and countryside of Castellana. Huge piles of wood are prepared by associations and groups of young people, who compete in a playful spirit for the title of “best fanova of the year.” Around the blazing fires, people gather and celebrate to the rhythm of folk music and a good glass of wine, paying tribute to the Madonna della Vetrana, who on January 11, 1691, drove the plague out of Castellana.

On that night, in fact, two priests prayed fervently to the Madonna of the local convent, and the following day many people were healed after being anointed with the miraculous oil from the votive lamp. The plague thus left the town, and everything that had come into contact with the disease was burned, while the end of the contagion was celebrated around the many bonfires that had been lit.

On January 12, the festivities continue with religious celebrations in honor of the Patron Saint, Maria Santissima della Vetrana. The ritual, however, begins on the night of January 10 at 3:00 a.m. with the “Diana,” the traditional collection of offerings among the local olive mills: accompanied by the town band, the faithful go from place to place gathering the oil that will fuel the votive lamp of the Madonna della Vetrana throughout the entire year.

The Carnival of Putignano is the oldest in Europe. It is a celebration for adults and children alike, rich in traditions, rituals, and events, which began on December 26, 1394, during the solemn transfer of the relics of Saint Stephen from the Abbey of Santo Stefano in Monopoli to Putignano, where they are still preserved today in the Church of Santa Maria la Greca. According to tradition, a group of farmers who were planting vines left their work in the fields to join the procession with songs, dances, and rhyming poems. For this reason, every year in Putignano the Carnival is inaugurated on December 26 with the so-called “Propaggini”: groups of “propagginanti” compete through comic-satirical sketches in the local dialect, focusing on figures and events from village life.

Starting on January 17, the day dedicated to Saint Anthony Abbot, the Thursdays of Carnival take place. Each Thursday is devoted to a specific social category, targeted by highly entertaining satirical invectives. The celebrations move from the Thursday of the Monsignor to those of the priests, nuns, widows, madmen, women, and finally to the hilarious Thursday of the “Cuckolds,” organized by the Academy of Horns, which performs the traditional “cutting of the horns.”

On February 2, the day of Candlemas, the Feast of the Bear is celebrated. After wandering through the streets of the old town, the bear reaches Piazza Plebiscito, where it announces the upcoming weather trends based on the day’s meteorological conditions (if the weather is fine on February 2, winter will last longer). This traveling show is fun and engaging, and it is one of the most anticipated moments of the Carnival of Putignano.

However, it is with the parade of enormous papier-mâché allegorical floats that the celebration truly comes alive. On the three Sundays before the beginning of Lent, the main street of Putignano fills with people eager to have fun with jokes and pranks, admiring not only the masked groups but especially the seven gigantic, brightly colored papier-mâché sculptures that move to the rhythm of music. The art of papier-mâché in Putignano is in fact ancient, handed down from generation to generation by families of master craftsmen who each year shape sheets of newspaper mixed with a flour-based glue to create unique and highly original works, whose forms satirically depict contemporary figures or events. The symbolic mask of Putignano is “Farinella,” named after a typical product of the local gastronomic tradition: a flour made from humble ingredients such as chickpeas and toasted barley.

There are four masked parades, the last and most eagerly awaited of which takes place on the evening of Shrove Tuesday, when the most beautiful float is proclaimed. Many rituals, however, are linked to the final night before Lent. It begins with the Funeral of the Carnival, staged immediately after the conclusion of the parade and continuing late into the night: a group of improbable priests roam through the streets of the historic center giving bizarre blessings and reciting in dialect the life of the dying Carnival, followed by women in tears dressed in mourning for the imminent beginning of Lent. A papier-mâché pig, symbol of the opulence typical of Carnival, is burned, and the celebration continues until midnight under the Bell of the Maccheroni: starting at 11:00 p.m., beneath a large papier-mâché bell (whose 365 tolls recall the imminent beginning of penance), macaroni with tomato sauce and sausage are distributed, while people dance and raise their glasses in celebration.