The sanctuary of the Beata Vergine di Montemauro stands above 1000 metres, on the rocky top of the mountain that gives it its name, about 5 km from the built-up area of Pescopagano; at the foot of the mountain runs the Ficocchia, a stream that ends up in the Ofanto. The little church has been rebuilt so many times that its age can no longer be read on its walls: it probably dates from the 11th or 12th century and, according to the local historian G. Bruno, it is already mentioned in the bull that Pope Innocent III sent on 3 November 1200 to Pantaleone, archbishop of Conza, to settle matters concerning the holdings of the archdiocese.
What to see
The Virgin venerated up here is also called di Mauriello, after a hamlet that no longer exists: the church is said to have been founded inside that settlement, which later dissolved leaving only the place of worship standing. It is the most interesting fact about the whole sanctuary, a building that outlived the village which built it.
There is nothing else around: rock and low vegetation, and further down the stream. Anyone climbing up expecting a monumental complex will be disappointed; the sanctuary is a small church, and that is exactly its measure, a destination rather than a monument to walk around. It is worth recalling where the town's name comes from: Petra Pagana, from the persistence of a pagan cult documented by idols and by inscriptions to the god Silvanus. In this territory the replacement of the old cults by Christian ones is not a textbook formula.
Visiting
You climb from the town, a handful of kilometres away but a good deal lower down; the destination is a summit, so plan your time as you would for a mountain walk rather than for a stroll through a historic centre. May is the right month: that is when the people of Pescopagano come up on pilgrimage. In ecclesiastical terms the sanctuary changed address in 1976: until 8 September of that year Pescopagano belonged to the diocese of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, after which it passed to Melfi, Rapolla e Venosa.
Our editors' tip
Come in May, but do not expect a festival. May in Pescopagano has none of the cheerfulness it has elsewhere: neither the maggi behind the medieval Calendimaggio nor rites such as the Piantar di maggio have survived here, and the month is marked instead by penitential pilgrimages to the top of Montemauro. Climb in that spirit, and before tackling the mountain stop where the Ficocchia runs: from there a single glance is enough to size up the height the pilgrims cover on foot.