The monument unveiled in 2016 on piazza San Giovanni XXIII does not portray the Madonna: it portrays the men who carry her. Bishop Georg Gänswein attended the unveiling, and the gesture set in bronze is one Viggiano repeats twice a year. On the first Sunday of May the statue of the Madonna leaves the mother church and climbs to the sanctuary on the summit of the Sacro Monte, at 1725 m: 12 km of route and about a thousand metres of ascent, with teams of volunteers taking her on their shoulders and swapping over in rotation. On the first Sunday of September the same road is walked in reverse, and that is the procession of the Virgin who comes down from the mountain.
What to see
The square that holds the monument is shaped like a harp, and not by accident: Viggiano sent generations of harp players and harp makers out into the world. Around the group of bearers stand four statues of women musicians, with violin, cello, flute and harp, and the column of the Viggianese in the world, which recalls the emigration of local families towards America, Australia and South Africa. The dancing fountains complete the set, with water jets and coloured lights.
The statue the bearers escort up and down the mountain is carved in olive wood, gilded all over except for the face, and shows a Madonna in Greek dress with the child on her lap. The first record of it is a notarial deed of 1393; in 1991 John Paul II crowned her Patron and Queen of the Lucanian people.
Visiting
The square is public and can be crossed at any hour, with no ticket and no gate. Look first at the bearers' hands and shoulders, then raise your eyes to the north, where the summit those shoulders climb stands. From September to May the real Madonna is a few steps away, inside the basilica.
Our editors' tip
If you are here on the first Sunday of May or of September, do not wait for the procession in the square. Drive up to the Piana di Bonocore and walk down to meet the column along the paved path: you will see the bearers change over where the climb really bites, which is the thing the monument is trying to tell you.