La Tirata del Carro

La Tirata del Carro (Dragging of the Cart) is a traditional and folkloric event that takes place in Mirabella Eclano in honour of Our Lady of Sorrows, on the Saturday before the third Sunday of September.

It's one of the most famous and followed events in Irpinia: it consists in the transport of a 25 meters high obelisk, completely covered with woven straw, handmade by local artisans, across the streets of the city, precisely in the area of Santa Caterina up to the village. 

The Mirabella Eclano Cart was created at the end of the 17th century. It was initially linked to the two-wheeled farm cart, it took the form of an obelisk in 1869 thanks to Stanislao Martino, who managed to bring the style of the Mirabella Eclano wagon closer to that typical of the Obelisk of the Immaculate in Naples. 
Over the years, even though it lost the structure and features of the original 19th century cart, the obelisk was enriched with new decorative and figurative elements which have given further lust and magnificence to a sensational work. Its historical evolution is witnessed in the Cart Museum set up in the monumental complex of San Francesco.

During the event the Cart is transported across the fields and the town streets by six pairs of oxen and a multitude of men. Clinging to the hemp ropes that branch from it, the “funaioli” pull it with their arms, ready to run, loosen the grip or stop the race in order to avoid the feared event: the ruinous fall which is considered by the protagonists of the rite as a harbinger of doom. This mix of emotions carries on for the entire duration of the event, and ends with the triumphant transport of the helmsman and the blessing of the animals in front of the Church of the Addolorata (Our Lady of Sorrows).

The Mirabella Eclano Dragging of the Cart, a secular event of great importance for the local community, involves thousands of people every year, eager to attend a rite that is renewed, among art and folklore.