Dream of Italy is made possible by: Parmigiano Reggiano is a distinctive flavor experience on its own or with your favorite dish, cheese crafted in the heart of Italy for over 1,000 years.

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Traditional.

Parmigiano Reggiano.

Go Traveler.

Streaming TV travel app available on all smart TVs and app stores.

Don't go anywhere.

Just travel.

Miio your bridge to Italian craftsmanship: fashion, accessories, homeware and beauty.

Made in Italy only.

Jupiter, Florida and online.

Dalla Fonte bringing Italy to your doorstep.

A culinary adventure through Italy.

One plate at a time.

And also made possible by: I'm Kathy McCabe.

In this series we█ll meet the authintic characters...

Uncover the hidden treasures, and discover what makes Italy the most fascinating country in the world.

Join me as we dream of Italy From her presence in roadside shrines in the countryside, to her quiet watch on small streets in Rome, to the festivals all over the country where she is honored and revered.

The Madonna is an integral part of everyday life in Italy.

For those who believe the Madonna often appears in the form of signs, some quite bold.

As I was considering filming this episode and bringing my dog Finney, I received an email out of the blue from a fan named out of the blue from a fan named Madonna Finney.

Here█s Finney and Madonna Finney a sign that still takes my breath away.

Finney and I eventually met up with her in Florence.

I have returned to my ancestral province of Avellino in the region of Campania, where I am meeting up with Academy Award winning actress Marisa Tomei and Alessandra Belloni, an expert on the black Madonna.

We will visit the town of Moiano and the sanctuary of Montevergine to learn more about these unique representations of the Virgin Mary.

Look at all this, these poems I'm in Castelvetere sul Calore where I feel deeply connected to the Madonna of my ancestors.

Madonna delle Grazie.

My 99 year old cousin Livo Nargi is devoted to her as well He has written a poem in honor of both of us.

Many who come to Castelvetere sign Livio's guestbook, which I first signed nearly 30 years ago, and my late parents and crew signed when we were filming for season two.

You have to take a photo.

Oh, now it's Finney's turn that's I can't believe it.

That's so crazy.

It's like my whole little family.

For me, my dog is family And since he's the last remaining member of mine, I brought him all the way to Italy and to Castelvetere to meet the Madonna.

As I feel she wanted Many members of my family have experienced miracles thanks to the Madonna.

My great grandfather in 1899 in America sent 100 lira here to Castelvetere to build the most beautiful statue.

She's looking at me to the Madonna.

And today, I would like to give you a donation to restore this statue and to continue this tradition of my family.

for any celebration in Castelvetere.

There are two must haves The local specialty that is a cross between a panini and a pizza and fireworks.

In front of Castelvetere█s Borgo.

I sit down to chat with Marisa, who has Italian roots through both of her parents.

I want to talk also about your heritage in Southern Italy.

How did you grow up?

What was your, what you thought Italy was and what Italy is for you now?

I never really thought, oh, I'm Italian.

I just was...

I guess.

So I didn't really have a sense of what does it mean to me?

It just meant a lot of food.

A lot, a lot of food.

Talking about food.

A lot of making food.

That█s exactly what Italy is.

I█m fourth generation so we were coming here since I probably was about six.

Mostly Tuscany.

That's my dad's side, mostly in Lucca.

But this is my first.

I've been to Naples before, but never in Altripalda which is really my paternal grandma's line.

I feel very lucky to have this as my homeland.

Tell me how you became a citizen by ancestry.

Yes, I am a citizen because because of my mother.

It's a great gift.

Yeah.

Do you think you would ever live in Italy?

Yes.

I mean, that is.

That's my dream of Italy.

I wanted to ask that That█s my dream of Italy that I would be living here.

I'm taking Marisa to her ancestral hometown Altripalda just 20 minutes away.

Going anywhere with a celebrity as famous as she is means greeting her adoring fans.

Yes I think that my grandma█s brother Crescenzo Preziosi , he was a merchant ticket.

When he came back, when they came together, they came together and he made a lot of money in real estate in Brooklyn.

Today it created a different kind of realness to it, just being there in the space, being in the square, being able to talk with people from there, so that made Altripalda a whole different situation.

that was fascinating too.

You're welcome.

Thank you for the flowers.

You know, how they say all roads lead to Rome.

I have a saying growing up in New Jersey, all roads lead back to Avellino or New Jersey.

Because here, from all of us.

Oh, such a beautiful welcome.

And you are one of us.

And we are very proud of you.

There are popular versions of the Virgin Mary throughout Italy.

Like Madonna Assunta.

Madonna of the Assumption.

And Madonna del Carmine.

But in Italy, especially here in Campania, there's a group of Madonnas with a noteworthy appearance and history.

The Madonna Nera or Black Madonna To me.

She is the female embodiment of God.

So God to me as a female aspect, and it's more female because it gives birth.

It was Alessandra Belloni, musician, singer, drummer and the composer of the music that is the theme of Dream of Italy, who introduced me to the power of the Black Madonna and the mystical devotion of her followers through her book, Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna.

She now brings devotees on tours and retreats.

I understood it was a mystery.

But I wanted to know more.

And I kept feeling her calling me, guiding me in my dreams to bring her to the world.

The Black Madonna can be found in Russia, Poland, France and other European countries, even Ireland.

But perhaps the greatest concentration is in southern Italy because of its ties to Byzantium and proximity to Africa, where she is thought to originate.

She represents many things in ancient times, but she also represents the cradle of humanity, which I believe is in Africa.

She's the cosmic mother where we come from, the darkness of the cosmos, the womb of the mother, the womb of the earth.

Some believe the Black Madonna has pre-Christian roots and ties to the Egyptian goddess Isis, the goddess of fertility and motherhood.

Isis is the God, this with the baby Horus.

So that's the first Madonna and child.

And she is almost identical to this.

Madonna, if you see some of those statues of black Isis is with the child, it's like stunning.

How does she heal?

I know that you believe she has these healing powers.

I believe she heals by shifting the consciousness of people, which is very important right now in the world.

So I know in my case, she came through in a time where I was very ill and I know that for many people, if they are between life and death or facing a disease, the Black Madonna appears.

She's very powerful.

Yeah.

I asked Marisa what the Black Madonna means to her?

I█m into any kind of ritual, really I like I love that, especially if it's the deep feminine.

I knew of the Black Madonna but I didn't really have an experience of her until I went to Tindari.

And wasn't a religious pilgrimage, but it was more of a mystery.

A mystery tour.

It was a mystery tour.

And I went up with some cousins to, to the shrine up there.

And when I got up there and I saw La Madonna Nera, and I saw the way that the women were speaking to her like they were best friends when they were like having this glass of wine together.

Just talking to her.

Yeah, yeah.

Telling her all the troubles.

And it just changed the way I thought I could have my own relationship with whatever the mystery of the universe is.

And.

And it did change.

It did change me.

What is she for you?

What do you what do you feel?

She takes me back to my ancestors.

She takes back.

It█s very, very personal for you.

She takes me back to those original women.

She's alive.

She's she's interactive.

She's speaking to us.

She calls me into a deeper level of meditation and for me, she's the most non-judgmental she can hold all the shame.

She can hold all the ugliness and the beauty.

I feel very safe with her.

I feel very, very safe with her.

We are as humanity are from Africa.

So this is the great mother.

This is the great mother.

So for me she's the most potent because she's she's, she's the OG.

Yeah.

I was going to say she's the original.

She's the original.

Yeah.

Just 12 miles from Castelvetere is a sanctuary where my ancestors pilgrimaged devoted to a Black Madonna.

Madonna di Montevergine.

Followers affectionately call her Mamma Schiavona, And thousands of devotees would walk, sometimes barefoot up an ancient footpath to the shrine.

Along the way is the Sedia della Madonna or the Madonna's chair, rising out of the rock.

A stone chapel of sorts, It gets its name from a legend that the Madonna herself rested here with her child on her way to the sanctuary.

Everyone's welcome in the sanctuary, which was built on the ruins of a temple to the pagan goddess.

Cybele known as the great mother.

This Madonna is the one most important image of the Virgin Mary in all Campania.

And it's one of the most ancient images.

This table is was a painting in the in the end of the 13th century.

Mamma Schiavone is particularly known for her protection of The LGBTQ Plus community and is celebrated with ancient song.

So dancing is a very popular way to show devotion to the Black Madonna.

Yes.

especially the dance called Tammuriata.

It's very beautiful.

It's a devotional dance.

So when you watch it, you can feel it's sensual, but it's done for devotion and it's done for her, for the Madonna.

An hour away in the town of Moiano, in the province of Benevento, is another Black Madonna, Madonna della Libera, Our Lady of Freedom.

Many credit her with freeing them from illness, pain and despair.

I am here for the feast day of the Virgin Mary, September 8th, denoting her birth.

This year is extra special because today after 500 years the Vatican is recognizing this church as a sanctuary.

The devout flock to touch the Madonna della Libera.

To place photos on her, to ask for her intervention.

She's incredibe.

She's incredibly beautiful.

And the eyes.

Just everything about her.

Moiano resident Maria Oropallo, grew up in the U.S. but moved to Italy when she married.

My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer.

My mother being a native of Moiano, she and my father made a special trip out here because he wanted to see the Madonna one last time.

And then my father was gifted life for almost an additional two years.

Unfortunately, he lost his life in August of ‘87.

But I'm a firm believer that the Madonna gifted him these additional two years.

So she is somebody that I pray to every day.

Really?

Yes.

So these singers will sing all day They will walk around the entire town.

They will stop.

They will sing.

It comes from deep in their body and their heart.

So it's a physical devotion, not just a an emotional or spiritual one.

You can see they're not young, these singers but they are vibrant and they believe and and it's incredible to witness.

I've never seen anything quite like it.

I've been in a procession.

But this, is the singing, the chanting.

And it's like a trance.

Marisa joins us in the evening for the final but most moving part of the procession.

We go back into the church where I can physically feel the most intense devotion I have ever experienced.

The doors are closed and our cameras are off, as some of the parishioners lick the floor to show their faith.

Then many walk on their knees as they have all day.

What I was really moved by were the people.

There's just a lot of suffering and, and there was something really, really moving about the suffering together and then the celebrating together and kind of moving through a human experience together.

It's just so much more powerful.

It's a physical connection.

Yes.

Yes.

For me, I it's about going inward and changing ourselves and knowing ourselves and coming from a deeper place of love.

The Madonna█s signs only continued.

On our last day of filming, I saw a rainbow from the house in Castelvetere I once stayed in with my late parents.

Months later, while driving some 6 hours to the north of Moiano, the Madonna della Libera suddenly appeared in front of me on the back of a truck.

For me, the Madonna is much more than a statue or art.

In loving memory of Phineas Orazio McCabe, who was not just a terrier, but an Italian at heart.

Dream of Italy is made possible by: Parmigiano Reggiano is a distinctive flavor experience on its own or with your favorite dish, cheese crafted in the heart of Italy for over 1,000 years.

Authentic.

Local.

Traditional.

Parmigiano Reggiano.

Go Traveler.

Streaming TV travel app available on all smart TVs and app stores.

Don't go anywhere.

Just travel.

Miio your bridge to Italian craftsmanship: fashion, accessories, homeware and beauty.

Made in Italy only.

Jupiter, Florida and online.

Dalla Fonte bringing Italy to your doorstep.

A culinary adventure through Italy.

One plate at a time.

And also made possible by: For more about visiting Italy additional videos and a companion travel guide, visit DreamofItaly.com/tv Follow Dream of Italy on Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook