Positano celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the program
Positano celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the program. Once in Positano, the visitor’s gaze is captured by the sparkle of the majolica tiles that cover the dome of the church dedicated to S. Maria Assunta, the symbol of this community that rises to touch the sky between the colored houses and the limpid blue of our wonderful sea. Inside, on an eighteenth-century altar in marble, there is the most ancient and precious treasure: a Byzantine icon of the Black Madonna with the blessing son.
The oldest account of the Byzantine icon’s arrival in Positano is handed down to us by canon Filippo Montuori, from Positano, Dean of the Amalfi Cathedral Chapter.
In the 12th century, a ship coming from the eastern regions, where she had embarked the icon of the Virgin and Child, arrived in the stretch of sea in front of Positano, ran into a great calm that prevented her from continuing the journey. In the confusion that the event generated among the crew, a voice from the sky was heard saying: “Pose, Pose.” The captain of the ship interpreted this prodigy as a manifestation of the divine will: turning the bow towards the beach, the sailors landed and delivered the icon of the Virgin to the inhabitants of the place: they welcomed it with great joy and placed it in the ancient dedicated church. to the martyr San Vito, the first protector of Positano.
The community of Positano celebrates its Madonna on August 15, the day on which the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, with the procession of the eighteenth-century statue through the streets and at the seaside, attracting numerous devotees but also tourists. Everywhere in the world.
Below is the program of the celebrations from 5 to 22 August.