the museums - portosalvo

La Madonna di Portosalvo was our madonna - the madonna of those that lived in Santo Stefano. She was our caretaker, our patroness, our champion. Her feastday in September was the highlight of our neighborhood, of our parish of Aprigliono. The main street in Santo Stefano was decorated with arches outlined in glittering white lights. Vendors with their trinkets and foods hugged the front of the houses. It was during the feast of Portsalvo that I first tasted "American Peanuts". (And my office staff will tell you that I still eat peanuts.) And at the close of the feastday, we would all line up opposite the vendors, against the parapet overlooking the rest of Aprigliano and watch the fireworks. I always suspected that because of her, we were the envy of everyone. After all in some cosmic hierarchy she outranked all the other saints in the town. Yes, we at the top of the mountain with our wonderful madonna and the most beautiful parish church.

I remember going to Portosalvo with my mother and being afraid in the dark small church. Next to La Madonna was the niche of another saint - a dark, sad statue. This niche was full of candle wax and black stains. But La Madonna was beautiful in her blue and red, in her gold, oversized crown.
(The thumbnail points to the large image.)