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Easter in Sicilia
A Personal Experience
[Regions of Italy] 
[Back to Sicily]
During Holy week in April 1996, I traveled to Sicilia and after spending the
day in Palermo visiting some friends, I immediately proceeded to the town of
Enna which is a provincial capital in the center of the island, at an elevation
of about 3,000 feet. The preliminaries of preparing for Easter were everywhere.
There were all kinds of decorations throughout the streets, but more importantly,
the churches were prepared with the various statues and pictures and decorations
shrouded in purple in recognition of the dead Christ.
The first manifestation of religious activity was on the evening of HOLY THURSDAY in the city of CALTANISSETTA, about a 35-minute drive from Enna. Along with my friend Franco Ingala from Enna, we drove to Caltanissetta, arriving after dark - about 8:30 p.m. Parking a distance from the main square due to the traffic, after a 10-minute walk we entered the large square, filled with thousands of people. The festivities had not yet begun, but there was music playing from different parts of the square. There were several town bands playing typical Italian music - not particularly religious, but the somber kind of marching music that is known throughout Italy.
About 9 PM, the signal was given to start the festivities with the commencement
of a procession consisting of life size-statues depicting each of the fourteen
Stations of the Cross. (Jesus is condemned to death; Jesus carries his cross;
Jesus falls for the first time; Jesus meets His holy mother; Simon of Cyrene
helps Jesus to carry His cross; Jesus meets Veronica who wipes His face with
a cloth; Jesus falls a second time; Jesus comforts the weeping women of Jerusalem;
Jesus falls the third time; Jesus is stripped of His clothing; Jesus is nailed
to the cross; Jesus dies on the cross; Jesus is taken down from the cross;
Jesus is laid in the tomb.)
The statues were mounted on platforms about 8' x 8' in size, in turn mounted atop large pneumatic tires. They were partially pulled and partially pushed by selected persons associated with various churches and religious brotherhoods in the city. The platform space around the statues was heavily decorated with many beautiful fresh flowers, candles and streamers of fabric. These devices are referred to as the Vari . Each Vari was preceded by a band. It took about an hour for all fourteen to actually get underway because there were groups of people that were walking alongside, in front of and behind each of the Vari as they moved through the major streets and squares of the city until early morning.
On GOOD FRIDAY, Franco was my companion again as we stood alongside the main
street in ENNA; a city of about 40,000, but very highly concentrated in its
1,000-meter elevation on a flat plateau. One can walk from one side of the
city to the other in about 30 minutes. Throughout the afternoon, various
members of 10 religious brotherhoods, the confraternities, were gathering
at the Duomo (Cathedral). The confraternities are each affiliated with a
church in the city. Each group was dressed in very unusual attire that dates
back to the Spanish period (around 1500 - 1600); consisting of a white hood
with a point on the top and a loose garment/gown over which was a colored
upper piece (either yellow, blue, purple, black, green) - a variety of hues.
They ranged in size of groups from about 50 to 150 with ages from very young
to people who were in their 70's. Their faces were in full view because they
wore the hoods above their heads.
Starting at 6 PM, they marched in double file on each side of the road, each carrying a pole that had a lamp attached. Each of the confraternities is dedicated to a certain element of Christianity and element of faith. For example, one of them would be dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, another one to the Crown of Thorns, another to the saddened Mother, Mary, the Santissima Addolorata, etc. The senior people in the group carried a representation of their particular dedication along with a banner that identified their group. There were five musical bands scattered throughout these ten groups. It took almost two hours for all the groups to pass. The final group consisted of people associated with the Duomo, who carried on their shoulders a huge platform with beams, atop which was mounted a life-size glass casket, trimmed in gold leaf (looking very much like the gold leaf of a fine picture frame). Inside was a life-size reclining statue of the dead Jesus. An incredibly life-like looking figure. The procession continued throughout all points of the city, returning to the Duomo at about midnight.
About 9:00 PM, after the event in Enna, we drove to the town of ASSORO, about
30 minutes from Enna, across the valley and up into more hills, at an elevation
of about 2,000 meters. Arriving in Assoro about 9:30 pm, we again needed
to park the car a considerable distance from the main square of the town.
The town of Assoro today has about 5,000 inhabitants, but at its peak around
the turn of the century it had 8,000 inhabitants. The residents of Assoro
were not motivated to emigrate from Italy to the USA during the mass migration
from 1885 to about 1915 because they were relatively prosperous. There were
numerous active and productive sulfur mines which provided gainful employment
for literally all of the townspeople. However, after the First World War,
a major chemical company developed a synthetic substitute for sulfur and
the demand for raw, mined sulfur disappeared. There being no work, from 1920
to 1930, there was a large migration from Assoro to primarily Canada and
South America.
The town square was overflowing with people. We were escorted by the president
of the town council (presidente del consiglio comunale) Saro Capizzi, a young
man who is a good friend of my friend Franco from Enna. Saro works in Enna
as the representative of one of the major political parties, in one of the
secretariats of government. Saro greeted us and escorted us into the main
church where the festivities were organized. He led us back into the sacristy
and into the area were the various participants in the evenings activities
were congregating.
At the steps of the main church there was a large platform
device, attached to padded beams, that was to be carried by several people.
Mounted on the
platform was a crucifix about 15 feet tall - the most striking characteristic
of which is that the head of the dead Christ on the cross, instead of being
at a slight angle to the side as He is usually depicted, was hanging straight
down at a 90-degree angle, representing the more realistic state or pose
after death when there are no neck muscles to effectively hold the head up.
This platform was about 25 feet long. Mounted along the two beams on each
side were 20 candle holders of beautifully ornate antique metal and glass;
each about 20 inches tall and 8 inches in diameter. In the center, around
the crucifix, were an additional eight candelabra figures varying in height
from four feet to six feet. At about 10 o’clock, the pastor of the
church mounted the steps and began to give a talk on the virtues of being
devoted to Christ and to participating in this very reverend manifestation
of devotion on the evening of Good Friday. He kept exhorting the populous
to continue to be devoted and to continue to pray and to lead good lives.
Periodically, the priest would use the word “
misericordia” in the text of his message. Whenever he uttered the word “misericordia”,
the members of the religious confraternities that sponsor this event would
in unison repeat in very loud voices “misericordia” like a chant.
During the oration, standing on either side of the platform device were men
of ages ranging from teens up into their 70's all dressed in white. They wore
a simple long sleeve white dress shirt, buttoned to the collar, with no tie
or any other ornament around the neck. The “over” garment looked
like a priest’s cassock that came down to almost their ankles. Some of
them had lace/needle-point characteristics, all in white.
All the men were barefoot. It was April 1996. We were about
2,000 meters high. The weather was bitterly cold. Everyone in the crowd, including
me, was bundled
up with a heavy coat and scarf and hat pulled down over your head to keep
warm. But these men were in flimsy garments and they were barefoot on the
pavement made of cobblestones. These men are known as “Nuddi” because
they wore such scarce garments and because they go barefoot. I asked our
host/escort how one is selected to be one of these platform bearers. In other
communities, where there are manifestations that include either carrying
or pushing or pulling some kind of a platform device, they have to be either
members of some special organization and/or be selected by their peers as
having earned the honor to do this. Saro explained, in this case, that these
people were not selected on any kind of an individual or periodic annual
or community-wide basis, but, rather that the right to carry this device
has been passed down from father to son for 100's of years.
He explained that in the 1400's, during the Spanish period of domination of Sicily, the Prince of the feudal zone in which Assoro is located was named Prince of Valguarnera. His feudal territory extended over many miles, however he made Assoro his headquarters. In addition to being the Prince he was also a Bishop, presiding over that same church. The Prince/Bishop decided that he wanted a new crucifix to adorn the inside of the church. The craftsman noted for making this kind of religious article were located in another hill town - Nicosia, located about two hours walk away. The Prince ordered the crucifix made according to certain specifications – and it is the one still now in use.
After a period of time, the crucifix was completed and word came from Nicosia
to Assoro, to the Prince, that it was going to be delivered. The workmen
in Nicosia mounted the crucifix on a large wheeled cart and proceeded to
bring it to Assoro. When they were a couple of miles outside of the town
of Assoro, the cart broke down - the Nicosia workmen despaired as they had
no tools to repair the cart. There were too few of them to carry the cross
because it was so heavy. Leaving a few of their number to guard the cross,
they returned to Nicosia to get help to repair the cart. Working in the adjacent
fields were a number of Assoro peasants who observed the breakdown. They
were quite concerned that their dear crucifix, the big cross, was going to
be abandoned in the fields until the people from Nicosia returned. So, they,
the peasants, proceeded to carry the cross on their shoulders into Assoro.
One of these peasants was partially crippled and wore special shoes to assist him to walk. As he began to assist with carrying the cross, the partially lame peasant decided to take off his shoes to walk better. When he proceeded to carry his part of the cross, his lameness was cured miraculously. At that point, the other peasants took off their shoes and all of them carried the cross into Assoro barefoot. That is why today’s Nuddi carry the cross barefoot even in very cold weather. Saro said that only descendants of the original peasants that carried the cross in the 1400's could carry the cross today. They had to be either a male descendant or someone designated by that descendant to carry the cross.
The cross was carried throughout all of the streets in this village no matter
how narrow
they were and no matter how severe the turns were. There were
steep inclines but that did not hamper this march. The band continued to
precede the group playing their music. About every half hour the group would
stop for a rest. At that time, specially constructed support stands resembling
saw horses were withdrawn from side alleys and the platform was placed on
the stands.
According to tradition, the procession always stopped in the same relative
locations in town.
The residents of those locations served refreshments to the bearers. Also at
that time the men that sang the laments of the blessed Mary would sing again
in their very high tone - verses followed with low, long drawn-out guttural,
harmonal tones. After ten minutes, the group again took up the platform with
the cross and proceeded to other streets in the town. Some streets were so
narrow that in order to get the cross through, they would turn the cross sideways,
using a crank underneath, so that the arms of the crucifix would not touch
the balconies that extended out over the street. The procession continued in
that manner with their periodic stops and singing throughout the night, covering
every street in the town until about 3:00 am.
Our host, Saro, explained that one of the many miraculous manifestations of this devotion is that on one occasion the bearers were carrying their burden near where the road from the highway enters the town. The road was under repair with only sharp, jagged gravel stones on the surface. The Nuddi, in bare feet, carried this heavy burden on the sharp surfaces without anyone suffering any cuts or bruises.
by Giuseppe Tambe’
[Regions of Italy] [Back to Sicily]