Madonna delle Grazie sanctuaries draw pilgrims in Ruvo and Cerreto

In Ruvo di Puglia the annual devotion to the Madonna delle Grazie is celebrated on the third Sunday of May. The rite, documented since 1645 and granted a plenary indulgence by Pope Pius VI in 1781, combines a solemn Mass, a procession, street vendors, fireworks and a communal picnic known locally as the "scampagnata". The festival, once a focal point for surrounding farming communities, continues despite the area's industrial development.

At the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie in Cerreto Sannita, the Capuchin friars oversee the church, convent and pilgrim house that overlook the valley. The site remains a centre of local religious life, drawing worshippers for similar celebrations and reinforcing the historic devotion to the Marian image in southern Italy.