Ercolano's patronal feast is held on 15 August, the day of the Assumption, and belongs to the Madonna di Pugliano. The image actually shows a Madonna delle Grazie, enthroned and nursing the Child, but she is venerated as the Assumption too: the mid-August feast is among the oldest dedicated to the Virgin, older than its link with the Assumption itself.
The city's other patron is Saint Januarius, celebrated on 19 September. From the basilica of Santa Maria a Pugliano a procession of his bust once set out in May along the country roads climbing the hill.
