Precious Pomarico -5
n a period characterized by rainstorms, landslides and famine occurred the Miracle of the Wheat. 1753 was a year really fatal: 368 people died; well among them were 12 Priests, Sisters and Brothers of the Convent. Legend has it that ... swarms of locusts destroyed any agricultural product, the wells were practically dried up. Even fertile areas of Pomarico as Trincinaro, St. James and St. Lawrence for several years did not give the result of the hard work of the men. It was since 1680 that the country was suffering. There was a terrible famine to the wheat crop. In May 1753 it is said that an Apulian trader had come to the Colle Sisto. Not knowing the country, he went to Pomarico going down a cattle track with fruit trees and oaks on either side. He was well vested, respectful and good-hearted. During his trip he awoke the curiosity of the Pomaricans he met on the street. He stopped by the local monastery to rest. Then he went into the Piazza Nuova (now Piazza V. Veneto) and it was there that he announced to the community he had come to town to deliver grain. The news went around the neighborhoods and districts, and all rushed there by any means available.
The Pomaricans who arrived at Colle Sisto were astonished to see such an amount of wheat. There were at least 8 horse-drawn wagons filled with sacks of grain. People were hungry and there was no time to organize for the grain distribution so everyone tried to take what they could through shoving. In the general crush the people were fighting for a handful of grain. From that moment, in that humanly understandable act, was given the name "The Fight" so that the faithful, when they meet for the procession this year on 8 May evening (which that year became the feast day of the Patron Saint ) go to honor one of the most important miracles of San Michele Arcangelo in Pomarico.
After the Fight, subsided in part by gendarmes and the monks, there remained one towering load of grain which, together with the priests and the people, was escorted to the Mother Church in the churchyard where the bags were arranged in heaps and distributed to poor people who were not able to go or had not arrived in time. The Pomaricani after the fight and successful distribution of the remaining grain which happened in the churchyard of the Old Church met in the evening with the merchant. He told them that a few days before a good-looking gentleman was presented to him under the name of "Michael Pomarico" and he ordered the wheat be taken to a country town that was on a hill called Pomarico. Michele pledged his ring set with a diamond stone. The dealer, together with the authorities, went in Piazza V. Veneto, the new square of Pomarico, with its shops and its wineries, looking for some Michael who fit the description. When no-one did, at the suggestion of a villager, he decided to go to the mother church. The seller, looking at the statue of the Archangel Michael donated to the people of Pomarico by Francesco del Balzo, (now housed in the glass case at the entrance of the Mother Church) he recognized the face of the ring owner. Then everyone realized that the Holy finger was missing the ring with the diamond in it, donated by the magnificent Porfida Giannulli on May 3, 1713, which the statue of the saint is still wearing in the morning procession of 8 May.
The merchant and the population suddenly realized and shouted to the miracle. The seller, then, excited and stunned put the ring on the Saints finger waiving fees agreed with St. Michael the Archangel. There was general commotion culminating in joyful applause. The small town, where life flowed calm and sleepy, was reanimated. For a week the streets and the alleys were crossed by people coming and going, their faces showing the signs of a joy never experienced before. All spoke of the miracle and felt proud to witness an extraordinary event. Since that year, the Patron Saint became more and more honored.
Precious Pomarico -5
n a period characterized by rainstorms, landslides and famine occurred the Miracle of the Wheat. 1753 was a year really fatal: 368 people died; well among them were 12 Priests, Sisters and Brothers of the Convent. Legend has it that ... swarms of locusts destroyed any agricultural product, the wells were practically dried up. Even fertile areas of Pomarico as Trincinaro, St. James and St. Lawrence for several years did not give the result of the hard work of the men. It was since 1680 that the country was suffering. There was a terrible famine to the wheat crop. In May 1753 it is said that an Apulian trader had come to the Colle Sisto. Not knowing the country, he went to Pomarico going down a cattle track with fruit trees and oaks on either side. He was well vested, respectful and good-hearted. During his trip he awoke the curiosity of the Pomaricans he met on the street. He stopped by the local monastery to rest. Then he went into the Piazza Nuova (now Piazza V. Veneto) and it was there that he announced to the community he had come to town to deliver grain. The news went around the neighborhoods and districts, and all rushed there by any means available.
The Pomaricans who arrived at Colle Sisto were astonished to see such an amount of wheat. There were at least 8 horse-drawn wagons filled with sacks of grain. People were hungry and there was no time to organize for the grain distribution so everyone tried to take what they could through shoving. In the general crush the people were fighting for a handful of grain. From that moment, in that humanly understandable act, was given the name "The Fight" so that the faithful, when they meet for the procession this year on 8 May evening (which that year became the feast day of the Patron Saint ) go to honor one of the most important miracles of San Michele Arcangelo in Pomarico.
After the Fight, subsided in part by gendarmes and the monks, there remained one towering load of grain which, together with the priests and the people, was escorted to the Mother Church in the churchyard where the bags were arranged in heaps and distributed to poor people who were not able to go or had not arrived in time. The Pomaricani after the fight and successful distribution of the remaining grain which happened in the churchyard of the Old Church met in the evening with the merchant. He told them that a few days before a good-looking gentleman was presented to him under the name of "Michael Pomarico" and he ordered the wheat be taken to a country town that was on a hill called Pomarico. Michele pledged his ring set with a diamond stone. The dealer, together with the authorities, went in Piazza V. Veneto, the new square of Pomarico, with its shops and its wineries, looking for some Michael who fit the description. When no-one did, at the suggestion of a villager, he decided to go to the mother church. The seller, looking at the statue of the Archangel Michael donated to the people of Pomarico by Francesco del Balzo, (now housed in the glass case at the entrance of the Mother Church) he recognized the face of the ring owner. Then everyone realized that the Holy finger was missing the ring with the diamond in it, donated by the magnificent Porfida Giannulli on May 3, 1713, which the statue of the saint is still wearing in the morning procession of 8 May.
The merchant and the population suddenly realized and shouted to the miracle. The seller, then, excited and stunned put the ring on the Saints finger waiving fees agreed with St. Michael the Archangel. There was general commotion culminating in joyful applause. The small town, where life flowed calm and sleepy, was reanimated. For a week the streets and the alleys were crossed by people coming and going, their faces showing the signs of a joy never experienced before. All spoke of the miracle and felt proud to witness an extraordinary event. Since that year, the Patron Saint became more and more honored.