TRADITIONS
This people, even in their poverty an in their daily worries, have always lived a simple and working life, they knew how to appreciate little daily things, they fancied their myths, they practised their traditions, handed down to us. Those traditions and customs were practised during the whole year and every occasion was a feast for the entire community, because sorrow, pain and happiness of one, belonged to everyone.
In January, with cold and snow, it usually we kill the pork, and those who take part to this eat fried friggoli with dry peppers and also roasts; it is chopped meat, then we put salt on it, and we season it to make sausages and other delicatessen, that supplies for all the year. In the meanwhile, little groups of singers go from homo to home, standing on the door they sings requiring and traditional songs, such us “First Year day”, “Easter”, “Sant’Antonio abbot” and “Saint Sebastian”, just to have a glass of wine and something to eat.
In all the churches of Fresa there isn’t any statue of Sant’Antonio, in spite of this there has always been a great devotion from our country people. in the past, there use to be a little church just where nowadays the community houses are, which is called “Sant’Antonio” area. In 1576 there was an hospital for poor in Fresa, entitled to this saint.
Therefore local tradition are rich and they have a s specific reason: they are for example a wording for a spell against a skin illness, or traditional songs that we sing door to door on the 16 of January or on 17 January in the morning. In the past there was also the devotional little pork, that in Spring it was given to the Saint. We remember that this little animal could go around our village, with a little bell on his neck, he could enter the houses, he could stay everywhere and he lived to everyone’s cost.
On the morning of the 17, the feast day, the little pork had grown , so it was killed and his meat was given to all the citizens the proceeds were given to the church to say mass, and distribute holy images to be kept in the stall to protect the animals.
“Saint Anthony fire protector , bless everywhere, the animals, and even us Christians (…)”
February Sundays are characterized by Carnival feast, with many of us dressing a mask, with comics songs, plays such as the breaking of the pan.
March and April there are rites for Easter such as musarò, which is to say a Mass in the church with the Lent Fridays, palms enriched with gillyflowers , lu suppèleche which is the altar adorned with white blossoms and coloured flowers, then we have the important procession of Holy Friday, without the bells sound, in the night between Saturday and Sunday, we have a fire outdoor the church, to renovate the holy water, then the holy mass and we free the bells.
In May and in June there is the pilgrimage on foot to the Sanctuary of Madonna Grande to Nuova Citernia in Camporino (CB).

It is a very old tradition , we know for sure that from 1660 it has always token place. It is the Monday after the Pentecostal Sunday, there is first a mass, then the benediction and then we leave at five in the morning.
It doesn’t matter if it rains or if it is windily or sunny: we have to go and we go. We go down the river where we meet others pilgrims from Lentella, then we go towars Montenro di Bisaccia, where we stop at the Madonna di Bisaccia Sanctuary, then in the Sinarca Valley we stop and refresh, because it is midday.
We start again towards Guglionesi, and we go down Biferno Valley, we cross the bridge, and we reach Portocannone. When we arrive at the outskirts of the town , they use to meet the pilgrims with the local music band. Both priest embraces one other, and they exchange their stoles. Then both populations go together toward the church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, where we pray and the priest say a mass. At this point it’s about five p.m.
After this, we start again toward the Sanctuary where we arrive at about 7.00/8.00 p.m.. at this point we have to turn around the church trice, then we enter singing a song to the Madonna. Once in , we say the rosary and there is the evening mass. We visit the little chapel in the cave, where in the later medieval it was found the picture. At the Sanctuary arrive all the Fresa people arrived here on foot, but some of them arrive here also by buses or by cars. For many of them this is the only occasion in the year to see other people, to tell and to hear about .
Until 60’speople use to sleep near the Sanctuary, to have a rest because the only way to go back home was , again, on foot.
Nowadays, it is not necessary anymore, and we go back home by car, late at night.

During the last few years pilgrimage has had this affluence:
20 May 1990: 200 pilgrims counted at the Trigno River, but after that many others joined; 8 of June 1992:180; the 31st of May 1993: 180; the23 May 1994: 142; 5 June 1995:160; 27 of May 1996 there were also many people from Lentella; 19 of May 1997:200;24 of May 1999:189; 12 of June 2000:146;9 of June 2003:125 most of them were young and 25 from Lentella.
According to the tradition, on the Wednesday morning after the pilgrimage, pilgrims meet again out of the village and then start walking again towards the village centre. In the meanwhile another procession, with the Madonna statue, comes out of the church, with the band playing and the bells’ sound. Two processions meet at the curve on the way to Collemarino, and as a sign of respect all the other people are around the pilgrims, following then up to the church. Even the first of June, there is a pilgrimage towards the little church of Saint Antonio from pad ova in Guardiola, where all the people coming from other villages arrive. That day there is also a fair of general goods, but it the past it was a fair of animals and goods. In this occasion, it is tradition to hand out Sant’Antonio bread rolls, blessed by the priest.
The Corpus Domini Feast is characterized by windows and balconies enriched with embroidered blanket and table-cloth, the most beautiful, in honour to the Saint which is taken in procession with the priest together with the mayor, who brings, as tradition, the embroidered little umbrella. In the main square they prepare an altar, all covered with flowers and embroidered cloths.
On the first of November night, large numbers of youngs put candles in empty pumpkins, and they go from house to house to seek for apples, walnuts, sweets or coins.
Christmas is characterized by novena, the only crib in the houses and in the churches. And on the even dinner we use to eat 9 different dishes. We use to eat roasted eels, cod, fish soup, tuna, vegetables, oranges, chestnut, scrippelle and calcionetti. (nowadays we use also the Panettone and Torrone and moreover grapes because we believe it brings luck). Then in the Christmas Eve we use to play Tombola (a kind of Bingo) and at midnight we go to the holy Mass to kiss the Little Child, while the chorus sing the Christmas song of Croce: “In the Silence of a night”.