Walking to Pompeii for the people of Naples has always been a gesture of devotion par excellence, carried out in gratitude, on the occasion of graces received, or as an act of penance. This pilgrimage is celebrated annually on the last Saturday of May, the month dedicated to the Madonna. The departure takes place from Piazza Mercato at 12:30, immediately after the blessing of the faithful at the Carmine church. Pompeii is known as the city of the Virgin of the Rosary. The Sanctuary, founded by Bartolo Longo, is one of the main centers of Marian worship in Italy. Inside, the painting of the Madonna of the Rosary is preserved, surrounded by polychrome marbles, onyx slabs, lapis lazuli, and fifteen copper medallions depicting the mysteries of the Rosary.
The painting, transported in an armored van, leads the procession starting from Piazza Mercato. The route includes stops at the Basilica of San Giovanni Battista in San Giovanni a Teduccio, S. Ciro in Portici, S. Caterina in Herculaneum, the Basilica of S. Croce in Torre del Greco with a break, the Sanctuary of Maria SS. del Buon Consiglio in Leopardi, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Torre Annunziata, and finally the arrival at the Sanctuary of Pompeii.
