--Musical Journeys with the Black Madonna in Southern Italy
A documentary film written and produced by Alessandra Belloni
Directed and edited by Francesco Piccolo Camera work by Daniele Magoni and Francesco Piccolo
Score by Alessandra Belloni and John La Barbera
Copyright 2025 Alessandra Belloni & I Giullari di Piazza
A documentary based on the best-selling book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna (Inner Traditions | Bear and Company, 2019) by award-winning singer, percussionist, teacher and author Alessandra Belloni. Score by Alessandra Belloni and Academy Award nominated composer John La Barbera.
The film was made possible with funding from NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimo’
This documentary takes us on a mystical journey of initiation, transformation, and empowerment with award-winning musician and author Alessandra Belloni as she unveils the secret healing powers of the musical traditions of the Black Madonna in Southern Italy. In footage never before seen outside of Italy, the film immerses viewers in a world of ritual and magic where ecstatic devotional music and dance powerfully transform and heal the heart and soul throughout the beautiful land once known as Magna Grecia.
The film reveals this devotion in all its vibrant complexityas a living descendant of ancient women’s wisdom traditions and the veneration of mother goddesses.