51° National Madonnari Meeting

08/15/2025

The 51st edition of the National Gathering of Madonnari took place in Grazie di Curtatone, steeped in tradition and spirituality, within the Fiera delle Grazie which this year celebrated its 600th anniversary. The art of the madonnari is both ancient and fascinating: with nothing but colored chalks, they transform the pavement into an open-air museum. Their works are fleeting and fragile, vanishing with the rain, yet they carry an ancestral power that continues to resonate across centuries.

A total of 130 artists turned the square into a poetic open-air workshop, depicting the most important Marian shrines from across the five continents: from Lourdes to Medjugorje, from Częstochowa to Pompeii, and sacred sites in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Through their art, Marian faces spoke all the languages of the world, offering the public a universal journey of faith and beauty, in an atmosphere where time itself seemed to stand still.

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The art of Madonnari is an ancient and evocative art form, handed down from generation to generation. Fleeting, fragile and intense, the works created with multicoloured chalk on the pavement disappear with the rain, but retain an ancestral power. The ancient Fiera delle Grazie celebrates its 600th anniversary, held in the Mantua village of the same name, which hosts the traditional Madonnari gathering, now in its 51st edition.
One hundred and thirty artists have attempted to depict the Marian shrines of the Americas and Asia, those of Africa and Europe, from Lourdes to Međugorje, from Częstochowa to Pompeii. An open-air poetic workshop, where chalk dust becomes light, Marian faces speak all the languages of the world and time seems to stand still. In the Jubilee year, a collective work entitled Gli Anuacieli was created outside the competition, under the direction of Kurt Wenner, the famous American master madonnaro.
Kurt Wenner - Artist
The art of the madonnaro is unique because it has a relationship with the public; the artist and the public have a relationship, the artist does his work in front of the public.
Inspired by Mary, Gate of Heaven, the work has thus become a symbolic holy jubilee door with references to the Gonzaga family, the sanctuary, the city of Mantua and the Marian pilgrimage.

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The Madonnari of Curtatone at Casa Italia, interviews by Paolo Bertelli and Kurt Wenner

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