When it comes to Easter, or Pasqua, in Italy, it’s hard to know where to begin describing the multitude of celebrations that come with the holiday, one of the most important to many Italians. This week, women start preparing specialties while towns and parishes put the finishing touches on their plans for commemorating Good Friday.
Processions are common on Good Friday. In Chieti, in the Abruzzi region, men and children parade through the torch-lit streets of the town, each wearing the colors of their home parish. They carry symbols that characterize the Stations of the Cross; one individual carries a large wooden cross. The procession is accompanied by the haunting sounds of about 150 violins playing Miserere by Italian composer Savario Selecchy.
In the Sicilian town of Enna, as many as 2,000 hooded men walk the streets carrying Vare, religious statues of the dead Christ and his mother, Mary. Others carry symbols of the crucifixion, including the thirty denarii paid to Peter to betray Christ, as well as nails and a crown of thorns.
All over Italy, hundreds of processions take place. In Rome, the Pope participates in a procession that starts at the Colliseum.
This YouTube video is from Sulmona, also in the Abruzzi region.
It’s a solemn day.
Yours in experiencing Italy,
Barbara Fellini
