top of page
48.jpg

Side view of the structure

Photo by: @prolocomugnanodelcardinale

Hermitage

of Jesus Mary

'Ngopp Jesus Marj

The Hermitage built at the behest of the Sisters of Charity of the Sanctuary. It housed a beautiful statue of the Immaculate that was stolen just after the earthquake of the 1980s. Reference point for many generations interested in spring outings especially those after Easter. A building passed with all the surrounding land, after the unification of Italy, to the municipal state property.

THE HERMITAGE OF JESUS AND MARY-
After Easter, Jesus and Maria di Mugnano used to have a picnic and equipped with accordion, guitar and arranged instruments, they performed on the clearing in front of the Hermitage, singing and dancing to announce, according to the Christian rite, the meeting of the people with the Risen Christ and his "discovery" in the typical village environment, as old as that of our hills "THE CARDINAL HILLS OF MUGNANO". For the people of Mugnano, the event took on, in those years, in this way, the function of participating, at a popular level, the feeling of dismay, surprise and religiosity, in the face of the 'miracle' of Easter Monday and in front of the miracle of Christ removed from death and mysteriously present in the
testimony of those who saw him alive (from the Gospels).
On the Tuesday after Easter, going to our hills, especially when you were forced to go on foot, via the Ginnasio climb, was a pleasant habit, especially to savor the pleasant sensation of the change of season and the numbness of the beginning of spring impregnated with inebriating perfumes. The custom wanted the musicians to be rewarded with a "gift", perhaps with typical local products (sausages, cheeses, wine, etc.). "Zi monaco" often performed, I remember very well, he lived in "pie di mugnano", he sang and he played on the ramp already existing in the clearing, a structure built, I believe, for some hermit with disabilities. On some occasions, for Easter Monday, a real party was organized with the performance of Neapolitan singers.

The habit of the picnic on Mondays in Albis and Tuesdays dates back to the origins of the construction of the Hermitage of Jesus and Mary in Mugnano, commissioned by the Sisters of Charity of the Sanctuary of Santa Filomena. In recent years, but not only in Mugnano and especially after the earthquake that caused considerable damage, the custom of Easter Monday suffered a notable decline in interest, almost risking to disappear. The ACLI associations took care of reinvigorating the tradition, organizing the Easter Monday (first edition in 1981) and encouraging the organizing groups with prizes and awards.
In Mugnano The picnic in the hills has a religious value and was an unmissable appointment in the popular culture of Mugnano. A tradition already rooted in the old generation with the hope that the new one will appropriate it to reinvigorate its custom.

bottom of page