A favorite part of the trip for me is always the festa! La Madonna del Carmine is celebrated on the 15th, 16th and 17th of every July and for as long as I can remember, I have always loved it. The festival begins with a procession of the Madonna from her church, Chiesa del Carmine, to the Chiesa Madre in centro storico Mesagne. We stand outside the church with hundreds upon hundreds of people to watch the Madonna pass us by and then once she's passed, we can follow her on her short journey to the other church.
During our walk we pass through la villa, Mesagne's central park/meeting place/playground/etc. Along both sides of us are stands filled with all sorts of things from candy and olives to toys, jewelry, wind-chimes and cds. A nice little hodgepodge of things really. The procession comes to a standstill at the entrance of centro storico with a prayer, some words from the mayor of Mesagne and some music to officially start off the festival.
Chiesa Madre - this will be the Madonna's home for the next 3 nights where many from and around Mesagne will come to pay their respects.
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