The shrine of the Beata Vergine del Carmine is the element of deepest religiosity of Tornareccio. Tradition dictates that,of between 1450 and 1500, the Virgin appeared on a tree to two milkmaids who were guarding the animals grazing.
Spreading the news the people moved to honor the Virgin building a chapel, dating back to 1568.
The present church was built in 1886 and finished as remembered by the inscription on the entry "A veneration of the people of Tornareccio 1897," has been embellished and enriched over the past decade of new paintings and marble flooring as an expression of generosity and devotion of the people.The church has aisles of a Latin cross, the altar and the image of Beata Vergine del Carmine upon whose lap sits the child in a blessing, are original to the first church in the sixteenth century. On the sides there are two statues of St. Apollonia and St. Lucia, probably because the people of Tornareccio were especially devoted to these two miracle-workers, though the most probable hypothesis is that Lucia and Apollonia were the names of two milkmaids in which the Virgin appeared.
Here in this small town in Abruzzo, but great for the fervour of faith, Mother of the Redeemer, in her maternal goodness, wanted to intercede with the Son of God, working miracles of salvation and doing his sanctuary, a privileged place of encounter with his devotees who come as pilgrims, to visit on pilgrimage.The feast of Madonna del Carmine, liturgically celebrated on 16 July, in Tornareccio is lived deep within the festivities of 29-30-31 August,
and, the 30^th with special fervour. On this date, tradition sets the apparition.
Festivities start on 29. In the morning we honor St. Rocco; in the evening there is the solemn procession of Forgiveness, with SS. Sacramento and candlelight vigil in preparation for the feast of the following day, and at the end of this one starts a prayer vigil.The 30 is the solemn feast of Madonna del Carmine, whose image is carried in procession around the village.
On the 30^th , finishing up, one celebrates S. Vincenzo Ferrer.
The homage to the Beata Vergine del Carmine is repeated on 30^th September. The celebration is preceded on the evening of the 29^th . It is followed by the procession of Forgiveness and the feast of Saint Lucia (1 October), although in a less formal way as 30 August, which remains the date of greater religious intensity during the year Tornareccio.
