A Bristolian in Sardinia: Festa della Madonna delle Grazie

It was a festival day yesterday here in Nuoro, the "Festa della Madonna delle Grazie", and this is a celebration which is particularly significant for the inhabitants of Nuoro. According to the local legend, in the 17th century, a young shepherd found a small wooden statue of the Madonna which had miraculous powers and in 1670 the original church "La Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie" was built to honour the discovery of this particular image. Today, there is a tradition amongst the faithful of attending the church every day for nine days prior to the festival to pray to the Madonna for help with any family difficulties that they might be experiencing.

Stall selling musical instruments of Sardinian origin

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday, warm enough not to need a jacket or pullover when out of the shade, and at around about mid-morning Maria Rita and I walked up to the Via Lamarmora, one of the main roads in the centre of Nuoro, part of which was closed to traffic in order to act as host to a seemingly endless number of stalls. They were selling an extraordinary range of goods, a great many of them reflecting the character and traditions of Sardinia. Of special interest to me was one stall selling really intriguing looking musical instrument of Sardinian origin and another stall which was selling locally produced jars of honey complete with a display of bees making honey behind a vertical protective glass case.

After a coffee in a local bar we started to stroll back homewards. Through the gaps between some of the buildings we could see the sunlight glow on the side of the mountains, just beyond the outskirts of the city, and as we watched the crowd gather outside the church in Via Lamarmora, "La Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie", I had a very strong sense of being so very happy to be here.