Last Updated December 15,, 2023
Pro Loco Michele Caputo
Moschiano (Av)
Non-political, non-profit cultural and social association
Votive Chapel
Cappelluccia
Until the 1970s when the road leading to the Carita was built on the initiative of the then Parish Priest Don Salvatore Pierro and with the help of the municipal administration and then extended to the top of Monte Pizzone, one could only go to the Sanctuary on foot along mule tracks.
Tradition has it that there were three different paths to access the Sanctuary: one for each district. The reality The most used were those that led up to the Sanctuary from the Croce district and Coposchiano.
The one that started from the Croce district from the Pistiello area was a little longer and climbs up the slopes of the hill up to the "Cantaro" plain and then joins up with two other paths coming from Taurano, one further down Acquarola locality and the other a little further up on the slopes of Mount Serra to then continue up to the Sanctuary and further up to Santa Cristina crossing "le Pezze", "Cerreto" and "e 40 moie".
It is precisely on this path, halfway between the crossroads of the higher path that the so-called "Cappelluccia" stands.
It is in fact a small temple, not very large, square in shape, with a dome and without a door or gate (or rather once there was a small gate, but no longer, which overlooks the right side of the path on a ; small open space on one of the typical terraces of Mount Serra. These terraces, supported by well-built dry stone walls and unfortunately today abandoned and, when the fire was started by almost sacrilegious hands we dare say due to the lack of respect and care for the territory and by ignorant minds , does not destroy them, they are populated by lush and beautiful rushes and broom bushes as well as oak trees.
Entering the small temple, but already from the outside, you can notice a painting of the Madonna della Carita on the opposite wall and right there in front of the image a stone with a curvature in the middle like a "royal throne" and a hollow further ahead. Legend has it that the Madonna stopped in this place to rest on her way back from Moschiano from the Church of the Croce district (once the parish of San Bartolomeo) where she had been taken to be venerated. This is a clear sign of the popular belief of how She wanted to be venerated up on the mountain. We also venture another perhaps less plausible hypothesis and that is that this was the original place where the shepherdess had seen the Madonna and that for obvious practical reasons (the place is very steep) her cult with the related church arose where today the Sanctuary stands also because there were certainly ancient settlements in that plain (as reported by Prof. P. Moschiano in his "The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Carita" (op cit)).
In any case, for years this place was an obligatory stop for many pilgrims who went on foot from Moschiano and the towns near the Sanctuary and also for farmers or shepherds who tended to their harvest and their flocks up Monte Serra and beyond.
Over the years, time had almost destroyed it and the painting of the Madonna had almost disappeared. With the construction of the driveway in the 1980s it was restored and a small access road (a few hundred meters) was built directly from the asphalt road. Even the painting of the Virgin was perhaps taken a little too lightly and without the supervision of experts, so with its restoration what was perhaps a historical painting was lost.
In any case, the little chapel still remains there as evidence of a naive, simple, practical and faith-filled past and as a challenge to the future.
Crocella
For those who came to the Sanctuary from Capomoschiano, the route was different. The path, steeper but wider, started from the so-called "Vicolo della Chiesa" in Capomoschiano, officially vicolo Salita Carita' and now via Achille Belgeri from the name of the French Captain (actually born in Genoa) killed in 1861 at the hands of brigands.
Even today you can admire in the open space in front of the Church of the Incoronata a shrine with the effigy of a Madonna which was erected in memory of Belgeri's sacrifice. Before the 1980 earthquake this effigy was placed high up next to the main entrance door of a house on the corner at the end of the alley, where the open space in front of the Incoronata church begins. It was moved when the house was demolished after the earthquake and the open space was widened.
As we were saying, the path climbs up the hill almost vertically, zigzagging between hazelnut and olive trees. Sometimes it is narrow with brambles on the sides, in other parts it is wide and has a slight slope, mitigated by stone "stairways" which also have the function of retaining water and soil in case of rain. You can see what it once looked like by looking at the photos of when the Moschianesi brought building materials up to the Sanctuary in the 1960s. They can be consulted in the "40 years of photos" album on this website. After the construction of the asphalt road, this path was also abandoned and brambles and bushes dominated it until 2020 when a group of people from Moschiano, the "mtb-adventure-Moschiano" group, lovers of cyclocross (mountain biking) they decided to clean it up and make it passable again. Halfway before arriving at the Sanctuary you can see the ruins (two stone pillars) of an ancient gate and a ruined house. It was the so-called "gate "ro maestro e' musica". The name derives from the custom for the members of the musical bands who went to the Sanctuary to cheer up the celebrations of Monday in Albis or Pentecost to stop in this place to take a breath and perhaps review some pieces of music. Just before it, in another bend in the path, you come across another find in the shape of a small building with a dome and a small door. It is the collection depot for the water of the ancient aqueduct which once brought water from Pezze to Moschiano, perhaps still functioning.
A little further up, after a few hundred meters where the road turns sharply to the right you can find the so-called "Crocella" on the left side. It is a not too large wrought iron cross. facing Moschiano, placed on a pedestal of lime and stones. At its base a date 1876. 10 years before the coronation of the Madonna. From this position looking down towards the South you can see all of Moschiano and in particular the Capomoschiano district just below as well as the entire Vallo and Nola area up to Naples. This structure also remained abandoned for years and the members of the Moschiano mountain bike have restored it. The Sanctuary is only a hundred meters higher. From this position the view you can enjoy, especially at sunset, is breathtaking.
Votive Chapel