basilica, santuario, diocesano, Beata Vergine Maria del Carmine

At the heart of Avigliano, this church dedicated to the Madonna del Carmine was raised to the dignity of a Minor Basilica at the close of 1999, and confirmed as a Diocesan Sanctuary the following year, during the Great Jubilee. It is a Baroque temple, and like many such churches in southern Italy, it embodies a theatrical, emotional piety. The true substance of this place, however, is not its architecture but the devotion it holds: the walls are lined with ex-votos, those humble, earnest offerings left by the faithful in gratitude for prayers answered. These tokens so thoroughly cover the statue of the Virgin that she is mantled in silver and gold. Twice a year, in July and September, the sacred image is carried in great pilgrimage to the mountaintop sanctuary of Monte Carmine, over 1,200 metres above sea level. The July procession culminates in a Mass in the mountain piazza, after which the statue is circled three times before being laid to rest, still draped in gold, until the evening unveiling.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.