Culture
The twenty-second edition of the pilgrimage on horseback, between Moita and Viana do Alentejo, reached its most important moment this weekend with the arrival at the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora D’Aires.
It is one of the most emotional moments of the entire pilgrimage. Arriving in Viana do Alentejo and meeting the pilgrims with the population brings to the surface the feelings of those who travel these paths by faith, on horseback or in a buggy.
Hosted in Largo de São Luís, the pilgrims and horses prepare to complete the last meters of a route full of symbolism.
A remarkable day for pilgrims, but also for the population, who for more than 20 years have seen the recovery of this tradition that for five days travels through the fields and cork oak forests between Moita and Viana do Alentejo.
The Pilgrimage on Horseback recovers an ancient religious tradition in Moita, when farmers, with their animals, went to the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora D’Aires, in Viana do Alentejo so that the animals could be blessed during a procession and to ask for prosperity for the harvests.
This year’s edition is marked by an accident with a cart that caused a fatality among the pilgrims.
