The best time to visit Matera is during the last week of June and first week of July, when the town celebrates the festival of its patron saint, Santa Maria della Bruna, the dark-haired Madonna. This is one of Italy’s most unique and picturesque celebrations, and certainly one of its most authentic. And, while many Italians of Materan origin return to the town for the festa, very few tourists know about it yet, with the result that restaurant and hotel reservations are still fairly easy to obtain. The festival period is filled with all sorts of cultural events, including concerts and special exhibitions, but the highlight is unquestionably the thrilling Assalto al Carro, or “Attack on the Cart,” which takes place on the last day. Beginning at dawn, a beautifully ornate papier-mach? cart (which takes six months to make) decorated with papier-mache religious statues carries an image of the Madonna through all the town?s neighborhoods. The townspeople, in turn, come out to welcome it with colorful street fairs and animated celebrations lasting all day. At nightfall, the cart is led up to the cathedral, where the image of the Madonna is safely returned to its place.
Surrounded by horses and riders in traditional garb, the cart is then slowly led down to the main square, Piazza Veneto, which is decorated with beautiful lights. As an orchestra plays on the bandstand, the anticipation builds, and the whole town excitedly waits. Then, as soon as the cart enters the square, the people attack it, tearing it apart completely within seconds. Actually getting a piece of the cart (an arduous task, to say the least) is a sign of religious devotion, since the rite is a recreation of the medieval legend that the image of the Madonna was miraculously saved during an attack by bandits, thus confirming her sainthood. Some families have pieces of the cart from every year since the late middle ages. At the end of the night, a spellbinding fireworks display over the sassi brings the festival to its close.
