The Sanctuary of Maria Santissima del Fiume is located in the territory of Alcamo, just after the junction Alcamo Ovest of Autostrada A29.
History
In July 1820 there were some insurrections in Naples and Sicily; the reason was the concession of the Constitution of Spain by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, most of the population, on the contrary, would have liked the sicilian Constitution of 1812. In Alcamo this rebellion, against taxes and the duty on wine, was known as Lu ribeddu di lu 1820; there were the assault against the Town Hall and the destruction of several documents, they even put houses and notary publics on fire, killed some important people, including two police officers. In Palermo the Bourbons were thrown out and they formed a provisional government which asked for independence; in order to suppress these insurrections, the king sent the general Florestano Pepe with about 60.000 soldiers from Naples. While Colonel Flugy was moving from Trapani towards Palermo, he was forced to withdraw with his troops as he was fought off by the rebels from Alcamo, rushed in great numbers in the area of the Crimisus. The tradition assigns a miracle to Our Lady ofthe River, through the provvidential rains that stopped the Bourbon troops; in her honour they built a chapel. General Pepe, being considered weak against the rebels, was obliged to return to Naples, and General Pietro Colletta, who replaced him, suppressed the insurrection. The poet Peppi Enia, in his poem in eighths entitled Lu ribeddu di lu 1820, refers to the aedicula which today is located next to the chapel near the river, with these words: Pi stu triunfu di l'antichitati Sta figuredda a stu ciumi viditi.'' .
Description
The sanctuary was built in the early 1900s; inside it there is the statue of Our Lady of the River, carved by Giuseppe Ospedale in 1925, and a fresco on the ceiling realized by Liborio Pirrone, a painter from Alcamo. In May the chapel is a centre of pilgrimages, above all on Saturday mornings when they celebrate Mass. The feast, together with its rural festival, is held on the first Sunday of August.
