Enna is the city where the cult of the goddess Demeter and her daughter Kore was particularly rooted. Perhaps, it is the only Italian city where paganism survived until the end of the Middle Ages!
To put an end to this situation, in 1412 the municipality of Enna sent a delegation to Venice with the task of buying a statue of the Madonna to replace that of Demeter.
The delegation went to Venice and bought a beautiful wooden statue of Our Lady holding Baby Jesus.
According to legend, the ship that carried it was wrecked, but the statue miraculously floated and landed in Messina.
When it finally reached the slopes of Enna, the notables of the city welcomed the statue and tried to carry it into the city on their shoulders, but they were not able to do it.
Then, some farmers who were reaping wheat at that moment stopped working for a while and succeeded in taking the statue into the Cathedral.
Legend says that the route of the procession was traced by two white doves which were released outside the Cathedral and landed on the roof of the Church of Montesalvo.
Deep down, only the shape of the statue has changed, but the cult of the goddess Demeter is the same and it still alive in the hearts of the people of Enna!
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)
– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)
– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)
– Travels of the Mind (English edition)
– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (edizione in lingua italiana)
– Viaggi della Mente (edizione in lingua italiana)
Ettore Grillo's Blog 