SETTIMANA SANTA

 

Rites, processions, religious functions which unite faith, traditions and also folklore, characterise the week before Easter. Brief corteges of palms in the churches during Palm Sunday start the rites. On the Tuesday, the procession of the picture of the Madonna Addolorata – Our lady of Sorrows also known as the Madonna dei Massari which, on the afternoon of the Wednesday, meets that of the Madonna del Popolo. On the Thursday in the churches, “sepolcri”, richly decorated altars which recall the Last Supper, are set up. But the most important moment is the suggestive and moving Misteri procession composed of eighteen statue groups, made from wood, cloth and glue from the XVII and the XVIII centuries, recalling episodes from the passion of Christ, followed by Gesù nell’urna and by the statue of the Addolorata – Our lady of sorrow. Entrusted to the “maestranze” and carried on the shoulder, they parade from 14.00 on Good Friday until Saturday morning.