Events in Sicily: Holy Week in Sicily

On the furthest-westerly point of Sicily in Trapani, each year Easter celebrations are initiated with the Misteri procession, a ritual which has been practised for over 400 years. On Good Friday, the streets of the city parade a procession of 20 groups of wooden gold and silver-covered statues representing episodes of the passion and crucifixion of Christ. The procession is the longest in Italy which begins each year at 14.00 on Good Friday and ends after 24 hours on the afternoon of Easter Saturday.

Impressive celebrations are also held at Enna and Caltanisetta, situated in inland Sicily. At Enna celebrations have been held every day of the Holy Week since the 1600’s, with a climax on Good Friday, when 3000 participants belonging to religious fraternities of the city carry in procession, followed by a complex ceremony, the Misteri; the symbols of the Passion of Christ.

At Caltanisetta celebrations begin on Palm Sunday by entering the city with statue of Christ transported on reinforcement in the shape of boat covered in flowers. The rituals reach their peak on Wednesday and Thursday with the Varicedde and Vare processions, with groups of richly ornate wooden and terracotta statues. Owing to the spectacular and complex representations, the Holy Week of Caltanisetta is often compared to the “Semana Santa” of Seville in Spain.

And for those who wish to attend more unusual events, the “dance of the devils” in Prizzi (close to Palermo) and the celebration of the Judeans of San Fratello (in the province of Messina). The “dance of the devils” at Prizzi is a ritual with medieval origins which takes place on Easter Sunday, where two devils dressed in red and “death” dressed in yellow, roam the streets of the town polling pranks on passers-by and attempt at thwart the encounter of the statues of the Madonna and Christ accompanied by angels; subsequently a wrestle between good and evil takes place with dance performances known as the “dance of the devils”. At San Fratello, on the other hand, cheerful devils and noisy Judeans roam the streets, dressed in costumes richly embroidered with pearls and gold. With their load trumpets, the Judeans disrupt the processions and masses, representing an unusual feature amongst the Easter celebrations.