The patroness of Tusa is Maria Santissima Assunta, celebrated on 15 August, but the feast is made of four processions. On 13 August the one of the Dormitio Mariae goes out, with the statue laid on a bier of rushes. On the 14th the Madonna is shown as risen, and in church comes the Acchiananta dâ Madonna, the assumption of Mary into heaven with the help of stage machinery — once a wooden contraption.
The same ceremony is repeated on 15 August, and again on the day of the Octave. The Octave used to be accompanied by the cavalcade: horses, mules and donkeys with the grain gathered in the collection offered to Mary, led by horsemen bringing gifts for graces received. Today the cavalcade takes place on 15 August, before the procession of the Assumption.
