LA PITA

In Calabria in Alessadria del Carretto, at the foot of the Pollino, the traditional appointment with the Pita festival is renewed. The community of Cosentino, through the suggestive ceremony, pays homage to the patron Saint Alexander Pope and martyr, who died beheaded. A figure who is tied to one of the most difficult phases of the Church. The sixth bishop of Rome, in fact, lived in the period of maximum expansion of the Roman Empire and in full Christian persecution. Every year, in Alexandria, the inhabitants adorn a large fir tree. They go up to Spinazzeta, in Basilicata, choose one, cut it and transport it on foot for about 8 kilometers to the town. The descent is cheered by players who accompany the tree all the way. On May 3, therefore, on the occasion of the patronal feast, it is raised. A ritual that has its origins in the seventeenth century. It seems that some shepherds, cutting a fir tree, found a half length portrait of Sant'Alessandro. Effigy which, with each cut, lost blood. Hence an even more deeply rooted devotion.