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EASTER IN SICILY

Sicily is famous for its spectacular celebrations

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Sicily is famous for its spectacular celebrationssurrounding Pasqua (Easter) as Sicilians head to churchand take to the streets in parades to honour the mostimportant week in the Christian calendar. Festivitiescontinue throughout Holy Week, culminating on EasterSunday, when families enjoy a lunch based on roast lamband specially-prepared cakes. Pasquetta (Easter Monday)is traditionally the �rst chance for a spring outing in theyear, when Sicilians head for parks, beaches and naturereserves to have a picnic. All over the island, in large townsand tiny villages alike, processions weave their waythrough narrow streets, central thoroughfares and piazzasuntil �nally they arrive at the local parish church orCathedral.

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Easter also signals the arrival of Spring, and many pagantraditions that used to mark the arrival of the “beautifulseason” have been incorporated into the religiousfestivities.

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For food lovers, Easter is a great time to come to Sicily:enticing seasonal delicacies and gastronomic delightscelebrate the bounty of Primavera. It is the time forMartorana, or Pasta Reale, marzipan confectionary that isdelighfully shaped and painted to resemble fruit of alltypes. With Easter being a time for celebration, theCassata, Sicily’s signature cake, made of sweetenedricotta chesse, marzipan and candied fruit, graces tables

all over the island. Fresh peas, fava beans and artichokes

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all over the island. Fresh peas, fava beans and artichokescombine wonderfully in “frittella”, and the tuna �sh seasongets underway…The Cassata, Sicily’s signature cake,made of sweetened ricotta chesse, marzipan and candiedfruit, graces tables all over the island.

Returning to the more sacred aspects of ‘Pasqua’,however, here are a few interesting events to experience if

you’re visiting Sicily at Easter and want to taste the

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you’re visiting Sicily at Easter and want to taste theatmosphere of age-old traditions:

In the west

Probably the most renowned religious manifestations ofdevotion in Sicily are the “Mysteries” of Trapani on GoodFriday, in which the townsmen carry statues through thestreets. Each statue represents one of the stations of thecross and are all made by the various local guilds.Thousands of Sicilians line the streets awaiting the arrival

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Thousands of Sicilians line the streets awaiting the arrivalof the Virgin Mary “in search” of her son. A similarprocession takes place in Caltanisetta on MaundyThursday.

Erice and Busetto Palazzolo both have evocativeprocessions on Good Friday. At Erice, the celebrations aresimilar to those at Trapani, with statues being carried

through the town, while at Busetto, there is a wonderful

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through the town, while at Busetto, there is a wonderfulcostumed recreation of the Stations of the Cross.

Palermo and around In Partanna-Mondello, a suburb ofPalermo, the Easter week is celebrated with costumed andscripted recreations of Christ’s arrival at Jerusalem(5.00pm on Palm Sunday), the Last Supper (9.00pm onMaundy Thursday) and the Stations of the Cross (11.00amon the Saturday before Easter Sunday). Thousands oflocals attend these events and the atmosphere is one ofgreat devotion.

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Also of great interest, though not only at Easter, is themountain town of Piana degli Albanesi just south ofPalermo. As the name suggests, Piana degli Albanesi wasfounded by Albanian immigrants �eeing a Turkish invasionin 1488. Being somewhat isolated, the town has managedto maintain much of its original identity and many of itstraditions, one of which is its Orthodox Easter celebrations(it has been a Greek Orthodox Bishopric since 1937). OnPalm Sunday, there is a procession through the streets to

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Palm Sunday, there is a procession through the streets tomark Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. Festivities continue allweek until Easter Sunday when the townsfolk put on theirtraditional 15th Century costumes and hand out previouslyblessed red hand-painted eggs. After Mass there is theprocession of the Holy Veil, a piece of cloth in whichbelievers can make out the face of Christ.

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Another option is a trip to San Martino delle Scale, a smallvillage hidden away in the mountains just behind Palermo.Here, on Easter Monday, the monks of the BenedictineMonastery celebrate Easter and the coming of Spring byfreeing the birds they have saved from the harsh mountainwinter. The birds are kept in a large specially built aviaryand their release is part of a tradition that goes back over300 years. The arrival of Spring is also celebrated withconcerts, enormous �oral arrangements and Gregorianchant, all of which create a wonderful festive atmosphere.

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Partanna Partanna Erice Erice Trapani Trapani

On Palm Sunday, Caccamo, a mountain town east ofPalermo hosts a marathon procession called “USignuruzzu a Cavaddu”. At 9.00am the bells of the manychurches signal the commencement of proceedings andan altar boy, riding a donkey, is accompanied through thestreets by the local band and 12 children dressed in redtunics, holding palm fronds. For three hours, the troupetours the town’s churches, receiving, at each one, atumultuous welcome.

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Caccamo, signuruzzu a cavaddu

Meanwhile in Prizzi, in the hills south of Palermo, a verydifferent event takes place on Easter Sunday – The Danceof the Devils. Wearing red and black satanic maskscomplete with horns and grotesque noses, a portion of thetownsfolk wreak havoc, constraining passers-by to buythem drinks (a metaphor for stealing their souls). In thestruggle that ensues between good and evil, it is Christand the Madonna who triumph, along with other localsdressed as angels. During the ensuing celebrations the

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dressed as angels. During the ensuing celebrations thedevils are “forced” to get the drinks in and “cannateddi”, atypical Easter cake, is distributed.

In Gangi, in the Madonie Mountains, the most importantday of the Easter calendar is Palm Sunday, which sees aprocession through the streets, with drummers, and

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procession through the streets, with drummers, andmembers of the various religious confraternities dressedin white tunics and coloured cloaks, carrying speciallycreated arrangements of palm fronds and �owers. Mass inthe Chiesa Madre is signalled by the drum voluntary.

Catania and around

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On Easter Sunday in Adrano, on the south-west �anks ofMount Etna, the triumph of good over evil – as in Prizzi –is celebrated with the “Diavolata”. In the central piazza astage is erected and divided into two parts: one devoted toHell, inhabited by the Devil and �ve demons, and the otherto Heaven. The Diavolata is, in effect, a play in which anangel battles against the Devil, trying to make him and his

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angel battles against the Devil, trying to make him and hisdemons say the words “Viva Maria”. The costumes arecolourful and there are even some stage effects, such assmoke and �re. The outcome of the struggle, seeing that ittakes place on Easter Day, leaves noone surprised.

At Bronte, on the western �anks of Mount Etna, GoodFriday and the Passion of Christ is celebrated with aheartfelt, highly-charged costumed procession, re-enactingthe Stations of the Cross. Silence is expected fromobservers, and only the beating of drums can be heard… Asimilar event takes place in Caltagirone.

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At Forza d’Agro’, just north of Taormina, on Easter Monday,the locals continue an age-old tradition, including aprocession of holy oils, laurels, the distribution of home-made bread called ‘cuddure’ and a small competition tochoose the best religious banner made out of laurelleaves.

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In the south-east

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Easter Sunday in Modica is characterised by the solemnprocession of the “Madonna Vasa Vasa”. A statue of theVirgin Mary is carried around the town before arriving atPiazza San Domenico where she encounters a statue ofJesus and kisses him.

Just up the road in Noto, the week of Easter is celebratedwith a series of processions including one in the afternoon

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with a series of processions including one in the afternoonof Good Friday and another in the morning of Easter Day.Similar events also take place in Ragusa Ibla.

At Scicli, on Palm Sunday an ancient statue of theMadonna della Pieta’ – discovered in around 1,000AD,after being hidden from the Saracens for several hundredyears – is transferred from the Church of Santa Maria LaNova to the Church of Carmine.

If you’re staying in the south-east, you could also pop

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If you’re staying in the south-east, you could also popalong to Ferla, near Syracuse, on Holy Saturday. Here at9.00pm the town’s church bells signal the beginning ofcelebration starting with a �reworks display. Church’s areilluminated, the town band plays and a procession begins.Some hardy souls continue all through the night carryingChrist’s body round the town in a torch-lit vigil.

In San Biagio Platani (in the province of Agrigento) onEaster Sunday. Two religious factions deck the town in

colourful decorative arches made from all sorts of

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colourful decorative arches made from all sorts ofmaterials including vegetables and cereals. Each group’swork is prepared in absolute secrecy during the weeksleading up to Easter and each attempts to outdo the other.The competitive spirit is, however, just a backdrop to themore important celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

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A SICILIAN EASTER Pasqua siciliana

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