I started photographing village festivals in Basilicata, southern Italy, in 2004, with my first visit to the massive tree festival in Accettura. One type of rituals I have photographed through the years are harvest rituals that involve bundles of sheafs of wheat carried as votive offerings. These take place usually during the month of August and overlap with a Christian festival – often in honour of a Saint or Madonna. These photographs are part of a series on wheat festivals in Basilicata, in this case made with a Sony A7RII and three lenses: Sony 16-35/4 FE, Sony 55/1.8 FE and Zeiss 85/1.8 Batis.

This year I visited the small village of Teana (PZ) during the Madonna delle Grazie procession, on 8 August 2016. In Teana the wheat bundles are particularly complex and uniquely feature four “arms” that lift when the carriers dance with them.