The Prudentius, historian of Alvito, as far as we know, is the first writer from Val Comino to speak about the Canneto Valley and the church dedicated to the Virgin placed there. He, describing the town of Settefrati in whose territory the sanctuary has always stood, expresses himself thus:
"Le montagne sono finissime con acqua in grande abondantia et in esse nasce la Melfe, che all'uscir sotto un masso porta certa arena aurata, mostrando che l'acqua passa per vena di oro. There is a church that is said to be S. Maria di Candido, well built and with good stantie: it is a very suitable place for a hermit to be solitary.
It is visited often and devoutly by monks, and there are many holy relics, with a piece of the wood of the Holy Cross, where our Redeemer was nailed and died for us".
In the short but juicy description by the historian from Alvaro, what were the most typical and proper aspects of the Canneto ValleyThe sources of the Melfa, the church, the pilgrimage and the relics.
The sources
or more commonly Capodacqua. This suggestive corner, located on the north-eastern side of the plateau, was characterised by two natural phenomena that were more unique than rare: the gushing of a river at the foot of an enormous boulder and the shimmering, in the clear, icy waters, of minute flakes of gold, called variously by later writers, which the pilgrims of Canneto in their moments of relaxation delighted in spotting and collecting, trying to preserve them in their handkerchiefs. Those
devotees called them amiably: “Our Lady's little stars”.
The place, sacred since the earliest antiquity (4th century B.C.) due to the cult rendered there to the river goddess, identified with Mephitis, goddess of healthy air, it was also an oasis of coolness and refreshment, especially in the midday hours, when the scorching sun darts down, enveloping the plateau in an immense unbreathable blaze.
This paradisiacal part of the valley with all its beauty was destroyed in 1958 with the works to capture the spring waters for the water supply of many villages and made inaccessible by fencing. For some years now -dulcis in fundo- it has also been forbidden to stop on the other side of the canal, where the last surviving rivulet of “a great river” (“mégas potamòs”) flows, as Strabo called it (1st century B.C.).
The church
Prudenzio calls it “S. Maria di Candido” in the Alvitano dialect. It was “ben fabricata et con buone stantie”. In this brief indication we see all the work carried out a few decades earlier by the indefatigable abbot of Canneto Fr. Federico de Manlion (...1530-1533), already amply illustrated in the previous episode.
In summary, he extended the church, adding the transept hall to the three existing naves, built several rooms on the first floor and erected a portico or narthex in front of the three entrances with three frontal arches, stone cross vaults and three rooms above.
This 16th-century settlement has remained virtually unchanged even in the subsequent restoration and extension of the church and is clearly discernible in the oldest photo of the sanctuary, dating from the mid-19th century, which we are now familiar with.
The narthex with its three arches, stone cross vaults and consequently the three original chambers above were intentionally left in the 1978-1983 general renovation of the sanctuary, incorporating them into the new architecture, in order to preserve a true “relic” of the ancient Marian temple.
In this way, part of the work of d. Federico de Manlion has survived the pressing needs of the new buildings and is destined to happily perpetuate itself in time. The humble abbot of Canneto certainly did not think he would rise to such glory, which today's historical memory justly honours him.
The pilgrimage
La Canneto Valley has known about the phenomenon since pre-Christian times due to the existence at the sources of the Melfa of an Italic-Roman sanctuary dating back to the 4th-2nd centuries B.C., located at a depth of about 7 metres and identified during the soil borings of the spring waters, already mentioned.
From the coinage found there with other votive material, which can be dated to the above-mentioned centuries, and from the relevant coinage, it can be deduced that various Italic and Latin populations came to Canneto to perform propitiatory rites at the river sources.
The Marian pilgrimage began historically in December 1288, when in the church of S. Mary of Canneto we find for the first time a college of clerics, dedicated to the service of the temple and the religious care of the devout, who flocked here.
Over time it grew in the number of the faithful and in the days of visits, especially after 25 November 1475, when the Holy See granted an indulgence of 100 days to be enjoyed on five liturgical anniversaries: the Assumption, the Octave, the Nativity of Mary, the Nativity of St John the Baptist and the Dedication of the church.
At the time of the writer from Avellino (1574), devotees came to Canneto frequently (“often”), especially on those five days of the indulgence; in a spirit of penitence and prayer (“devoutly”), coming from neighbouring towns (“da convicini”).
Relics
They existed in Canneto since the time of d. Federico de Manlion and were many. The touching words in which Prudentius speaks of these relics in the possession of the church of Canneto and the piece of the
cross, concluding his brief report on the valley, are those that leave their mark on those who read them carefully:
"and there are many holy relics, with a piece of the wood of the most holy Cross, where our Redeemer was nailed and died for us".
This is not only the information of a true historian, but also and above all the message of a true believer.