Costanza Chiaromonte had been queen of Naples, until Ladislaus repudiated her. In May 1397 count Andrea De Capua brought her to Riccia, and here she stayed until her death in 1422: she is buried in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The De Capua held the fief until 1792; seven years later the peasants, at the end of their patience, set fire to the castle, and today only a few ruins remain with the watchtower. In the mother church hangs the Dormitio Virginis by Silvestro Buono, the Virgin laid on a bed covered in gold with the apostles around her. The name went from Saricia to Ricia, and finally Riccia. The 5,403 residents live in central Molise.
chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Compare hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes on Booking.com for your dates.
Next up: Mary Most Holy of Mount Carmel, patroness of an entirely Marian town, Friday 16 July
Nearest airport: Napoli Capodichino, 80 km away
No events match these filters.
📅 Every year, on 16 July
Riccia celebrates Mary Most Holy of Mount Carmel on 16 July; on the Sunday before 7 July the venerated statue is carried in procession from the sanctuary next to the cemetery to the larger mother church of Santa Maria Assunta, and the town is so devoted to Mary that every one of its churches bears her name.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Riccia, but an easy day trip away.
