From the day of appearance of the Madonna del Carmine, April 22nd 1506, the sanctuary of the so-called “Madonna Abbasc” is a place of worship and pilgrimage.
On the Sunday following Easter, the Confraternity of the Carmine comes out in procession from the Church of the Carmine, with the statue of the Madonna del Carmelo.
In the morning, the statue is taken to the sanctuary to be worshipped all day and then returned to the urban church. The Sanctuary is located on the slopes of the hill, two kilometers far from the town, hence the nickname“abbasc” which means “below” to distinguish it also from the church of the“Madonna del Carmine” , located inside Mottola.
According to tradition, in the seven Saturdays preceding the Domenica in Albis people goes on foot to the Sanctuary from the country roads praying and begging the Virgin of the Carmelo.
Il 16 luglio è festa grande in paese tra luminarie, bancarelle, la tradizionale banda, i fuochi d’artificio. Durante la Processione la settecentesca statua della Vergine è portata a spalla dalla “Colonna dei Massari”, per rievocare un’antica protezione Carmelitana verso gli allevatori del paese.