On 27 November 1954 Matera was solemnly proclaimed “Civitas Mariae” , a luminous seal of the Marian Year and eternal testimony of the City's love for the Mother of God. Marian devotion, which has its roots in the Middle Ages with the monastic experience of East and West, has marked the spiritual and cultural life of the Matera community over the centuries. Today Matera is a unique place where faith, history and beauty are intertwined: alongside the grandiose Feast of Maria Santissima della Bruna, the patron saint of the city, there are churches, shrines and tangible signs of veneration of the Madonna, making every visit an authentic pilgrimage of the heart. An invitation to discover and experience Matera, City of Mary, where spirituality becomes experience, tradition becomes living memory and Marian devotion continues to illuminate the path of the faithful.