Our Lady of the Miracle in Bitti

Grazia Deledda's novel entitled Two Miracles (1897) opens with the image of a woman, aunt Batòra, holding a mother-of-pearl rosary, a sign of Marian devotion, intent on ascending “the steep path that leads from the village of Bitti to the church of the Miracle above, that is, of Our Lady of the Miracle”.

Aunt Batòra prayed and sometimes stopped to give alms to beggars, who stopped at the corners of the path asking for charity “out loud and rhythmic, with a long chant and with an outstretched hand.”

Every year, in the last part of September, at the small sanctuary of the Miracle, located at the top of the hill of Gorofai that

dominating the entire town of Bitti, the novena and festival dedicated to Our Lady of the Miracle takes place. With a few more brushstrokes, Grazia Deledda gives us back the suggestive and joyful atmosphere of the party

“The colorful crowd flocked down the strange street and onto the large esplanade of the church. Down Bitti, with the wild village of Gorcai next to it, rejoiced, with the streets full of people, in the September sun, all surrounded by a green, fresh, sparkling valley

.”

In the country church there is a small statue of the Madonna and Child, of unknown date, but the object of great veneration by faithful and pilgrims. According to oral tradition, a girl born silent began to speak right in the presence of the sacred effigy. Even a passage from the above-mentioned novel suggests the great popular devotion to this simulacrum:

“the crowd, coming from distant villages, through mountains and valleys, is still crowding under the niche of the little miraculous Madonna, who smiles mystically, mysteriously, — and from year to year the voice of a new miracle spreads through the moved crowds.”

The sanctuary is also linked to the reconciliation between the villages of Bitti and Pattada, sealed by a wedding celebrated right in the Church of the Miracle, after a period of bloody feuds, with the origin of cattle theft.

The cultural complex as it appears in its current physiognomy was built in recent times (between 1964 and 1984). For the construction of the new building, it was necessary to tear down the previous one, of which now only the entrance remains with the ancient granite arch and a portion of the cumbessias, small lodgings

for pilgrims.

Dispenser of miracles, at the end of Grazia Deledda's novel, Our Lady of the Miracle will bestow not a single, but two miracles.

The

highlight of the festival is the procession that, starting from the Parish Church of San Giorgio, reaches the country sanctuary at the top of the Gorofai hill. Groups of Amazons and knights, wearing the festive clothes of Bitti and Pattada, advance displaying ancient and sumptuous banners. Hundreds of young people who are also dressed according to tradition follow, so that this ritual moment, as well as a manifestation of authentic devotion, is also an opportunity to display folkloric heritage, especially traditional clothing. The towns of Bitti and Pattada are the absolute protagonists, who every year give thanks to Our Lady of the Miracle for bringing back peace between the two

countries.

Update

7/9/2024 - 23:25