He was a rich gentleman of Ostuni, Pietro Sansone, to commission its construction done in 1788 in Naples, its city of origin. It was entrusted for the execution of the work, Luca Baccaro, Neapolitan artist. Another notary public, Felice Giovine, leading the 43 ostunesi, many of which were vaticali. Their target was the one to constitute an association of volunteers that would have supported economical efforts to honor St. Oronzo in the best way. In the previous years in fact, for several reasons, the manifestation had gone gradually impoverishing itself, therefore it risked more not to be carried out anymore. Therefore those 43 citizens, engaged themselves to support personally all the necessary expenses, in reason of 6 ducats a head each year, for a total of 258 ducats to spend in music, fireworks and any other thing needed to the worthy success of the manifestation. The same subsidizers, would have constituted the group of knights which guards the saint. It right to think that the cavalcade of the devout people, nowadays famous like cavalcade of St. Oronzo, has arrived until ours days, with unavoidable modifications but unchanged in the substance, just to leave from the beginning of the past century. To conclude the cavalcade, it is obbligatory, in Freedom square the execution of opera and symphonical songs, in the frame of the unfailing illumiations. Conclude the intense day the fireworks which, we like to think, are seen also by the satisfied 43 devout people who in that far 26 August 1803, assured the continuity of this extraordinary manifestation. | | |