Maria Santissima Odigitria — "she who shows the way" — is the patroness of Piana degli Albanesi and of Sicily's Albanian communities. Tradition links the 2 September feast to a vow of thanks after the earthquake that struck the area on 1 September 1726 and left the town unharmed.
The eparch celebrates a pontifical liturgy in the morning; in the evening the statue of the Madonna, attributed to the sculptor Serpotta, is carried in procession through the streets with the town band. Celebrations begin in the last days of August, mixing liturgy, concerts and the anniversary of the town's founding on 30 August 1488.
