Basilicata. In Castelsaraceno for the Ndenna

Every year, on the first three Sundays in June, the village of Castelsaraceno (PZ) in Basilicata stops: men, women, old people and children abandon their homes, take to the streets or climb into the woods, and together re-enact one of the oldest and most fascinating rituals in Italia. It is the Festa della 'Ndenna, which this year will be staged on 7, 14 and 21 June 2026. At the heart of this event is an 'arboreal marriage': the symbolic union between the 'Ndenna, a large beech tree chosen from the Favino forest at the foot of Monte Alpi, and the Cunocchia, a young pine tree from Monte Armizzone. He is the groom - tall, straight, majestic. She is the bride - young, with luxuriant hair. At the end of the third Sunday, the two trees are joined with an iron ring and raised to the centre of St Anthony's Square, where they will remain erected for the whole summer, until October. The roots of this tradition go back to a remote past, traceable to the substratum of tree cults spread throughout Europe, from India to Scandinavia, from Britain to the Apennines. On the days of the event (7, 14 and 21 June), the village comes alive with convivial stops, archaic rituals often accompanied by folk songs and traditional instruments. It all culminates with the solemn procession in honour of Saint Anthony and the bare-handed climbing of the tree that is hoisted into the village square. An ancient village that invites you with its traditions to be discovered but also for the immersion in its nature. At 586 metres long, it is home to the Bridge Between the Two Parks, the longest single-span Tibetan bridge in the world. An extraordinary piece of engineering that connects the Pollino National Park to the Lucanian Apennines.

https://visitcastelsaraceno.info/