The Festa della Madonna (Assumption of Mary) is celebrated every year on 15 August in one of the most mystical places in the whole of Ossola Valley; the Santuario della Gurva of Calasca Castiglione, in the Anzasca Valley.
The many miracles ascribed to Our Lady of Grace, whose effigy survived a huge rock fall, were enough to convince the local town people to build a holy place to surround the old chapel, where the most important events of the yearly celebration are held.
The feast day of the Assumption is the most important holiday in Calasca; the holy mass is accompanied by the thunderous sound of blanks loaded into rifles to mark the three key moments of the mass: the entry, the Gospel and the consecration.
After mass, the folk procession begins, carrying the relic and the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption, accompanied by the Militia music band and customary parade. This historically important celebration is honoured with a combination of religious ceremonies and parades performed by the Traditional Militia.
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