If you’re spending Easter in Italy then why not check out one or some of these enchanting events? Continuing on from our two other articles which detail several Easter celebrations, let’s finish with these three festivals.
The ‘Processione dei Misteri’ is the oldest Easter Festival in Italy and is hosted in the city of Trapani on Sicily Island. It has been celebrated at Easter here for over four hundred years!
This 24 hour event consists of twenty huge artistic carved representations of scenes from the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ.
The ‘Processione dei Misteri’ is the oldest Easter Festival in Italy and is hosted in the city of Trapani on Sicily Island. It has been celebrated at Easter here for over four hundred years!
This 24 hour event consists of twenty huge artistic carved representations of scenes from the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ.
These statue scenes are carried on the shoulders of groups of ten men called the ‘Massari’ through the streets of Trapani. They move in a synchronised step called the Annaccata to the music of the marching band that leads the procession.
In Rome on Good Friday, the Pope of the Catholic Church celebrates the ‘Via Crucis’ meaning the ‘stations of the cross’. It takes place in the Roman Forum between the Colosseum and the Temple of Venus.
A huge cross full of burning torches illuminates the night sky while the stories of the fifteen Stations of the Cross are retold.
In Rome on Good Friday, the Pope of the Catholic Church celebrates the ‘Via Crucis’ meaning the ‘stations of the cross’. It takes place in the Roman Forum between the Colosseum and the Temple of Venus.
A huge cross full of burning torches illuminates the night sky while the stories of the fifteen Stations of the Cross are retold.
The ‘Five Mysteries’ is a solemn Easter event held at 3.30am in Molfetta, Apulia. Five life size statues are carried out from the church of Santo Stefano, lit up by a procession of people carrying lit candles. Almost total silence envelops this event and would be a magical scene to witness.
So if you’re spending your vacation in Italy in any of these areas during Easter then why not come along and see them for yourself. Book into a handy apartment in Rome and enjoy visiting many other attractions here such as Vatican City and Castal Sant’ Angelo for example!
So if you’re spending your vacation in Italy in any of these areas during Easter then why not come along and see them for yourself. Book into a handy apartment in Rome and enjoy visiting many other attractions here such as Vatican City and Castal Sant’ Angelo for example!
Photo credits
picture 3: FaleBot / CC BY-SA 2.0
picture 3: FaleBot / CC BY-SA 2.0
