The Sanctuary of Maria Santissima del Fiume is located in the territory of
Alcamo (
Province of Trapani, in the
Trunk Road 113 (strada statale 113), just after the junction Alcamo Ovest of
Autostrada A29 (Italy).
History
In July 1820 there were some insurrections in
Naples and Sicily; the reason was the concession of the
Constitution of Spain by
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, most of the population, on the contrary, would have liked the sicilian Constitution of 1812 .
[F.M.Mirabella: Alcamensia p.101-103; ed.Sarograf, Alcamo, 1980]
In Alcamo this rebellion, against taxes and the duty on wine,
was known as ''Lu ribeddu di lu 1820''; there were the assault against the Town Hall and the destruction of several documents,
[Salvatore Messina: Alcamo nella storia, nella leggenda e nell’arte; ed. Campo, 2015] they even put houses and notary publics on fire, killed some important people, including two police officers.
In
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
the
Bourbons were thrown out and they formed a provisional government that asked for independence; in order to suppress these insurrections, the king sent the general
Florestano Pepe
Florestano Pepe (March 4, 1778 – April 3, 1851) was an Italian patriot. He was brother to the more famous general Guglielmo Pepe and cousin to Gabriele Pepe.
Pepe was born in Squillace (Calabria) and entered the Two Sicilies army at young age. I ...
with about 60.000 soldiers from Naples. While Colonel Flugy was moving from
Trapani towards Palermo, he was forced to withdraw with his troops as he was fought off by the rebels from Alcamo, rushed in great numbers in the area of the
Crimisus(river) (fiume
Freddo
Freddo (originally Freddy the Frog in the 1970s) is a chocolate bar brand shaped like an anthropomorphic cartoon frog. It was originally manufactured by the now defunct company MacRobertson's, an Australian confectionery company, but is now prod ...
).
The tradition assigns a miracle to ''Our Lady of the River'' (Madonna del Fiume), through the providential rains that stopped the Bourbon troops;
[Carlo Cataldo: I Giardini di Adone p.248; Grafiche Campo, Alcamo, 1992] in her honour they built a chapel.
General Pepe, being considered weak against the rebels, was obliged to return to Naples, and General
Pietro Colletta
Pietro Colletta (January 23, 1775 – November 11, 1831) was a Neapolitan general and historian, entered the Neapolitan artillery in 1796 and took part in the campaign against the French in 1798.
Biography
Colletta was born in Naples. On the ent ...
, who replaced him, suppressed the insurrection.
The poet ''Peppi Enia'', in his poem in eighths entitled ''Lu ribeddu di lu 1820'', refers to the
aedicula which today is located next to the chapel near the river, with these words:
''Pi stu triunfu di l'antichitati''
''Sta figuredda a stu ciumi viditi.''
(That is: For this old triumph, you can see this ''fiuredda'' near the river).
Description
The sanctuary was built in the early 1900s; inside it there is the statue of ''Our Lady of the River'', carved by ''Giuseppe Ospedale'' in 1925, and a
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
on the ceiling realized by ''Liborio Pirrone'', a painter from Alcamo.
In May the chapel is a centre of
pilgrimages, above all on Saturday mornings when they celebrate
Mass. The feast, together with its rural festival, is held on the first Sunday of August.
See also
*
Sanctuary of Madonna dei Miracoli
The Sanctuary of Madonna dei Miracoli ("Holy Mary of Miracles") is a church in Alcamo, province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy; it is dedicated to the Madonna of the Miracles (the patron saint of Alcamo).
History
The sanctuary was built ...
*
Sanctuary of Maria Santissima dell'Alto
References
{{Reflist
Sources
* Salvatore Messina: Alcamo nella storia, nella leggenda e nell’arte; ed. Campo, 2015
* Carlo Cataldo: I Giardini di Adone p.248; Grafiche Campo, Alcamo, 1992
* P.Enia: Lu ribeddu di lu 1820, Alcamo, 1922
* F.M.Mirabella: Alcamensia p.101-103; ed.Sarograf, Alcamo, 1980
* G.Mistretta di Paola: Tristi effetti dell'insurrezione siciliana del 1820 in Alcamo; in: ''il Popolo di Trapani'', Trapani 12 ottobre 1935
* Dom.Scinà: Raccolta di notizie e documenti della rivoluzione siciliana del 1820; manoscritto Qq H138 della Biblioteca Comunale di Palermo
Maria Santissima del Fiume