Between sacred and profane

Sicilian Traditions, between sacred festivities and popular beliefs.

Today we want to tell you about some popular festivals that take place in Sicily. Festivals that alternate between the sacred and the profane, in which traditions remain unchanged and are handed down from generation to generation.

Every year, especially in the summer, the patron saints of the towns or cities who have characterized the history of the place over the centuries, are celebrated with some important events. On the occasion of these traditional festivals, sometimes you can attend real folklore shows involving young and old from all over the country.

Here is the “Tataratà” feast and the double ride that takes place in Casteltermini, in the province of Agrigento, on the last Sunday of May: a feast that celebrates the birth of the Church of Santa Croce. The party begins outside the city with military parades, drums, people masked by Turkish linen workers who, with huge turbans, jingle their swords against each other, as if it were a real fight. All this by alternately bowing to the Sultan. To this spectacle of colors and sounds is added a suggestive ride, first performed by the bourgeois and then by the peasants.

Now we move to Calatabiano, in the province of Catania, where the patron saint of the town is celebrated on the third Saturday of May with the famous “Calata di San Filippo“: in six minutes, 50 powerful and robust men run down a steep descent carrying the heavy fercolo of San Filippo Siriano on their shoulders to the Church dedicated to the Saint. Very suggestive feast, which according to tradition indicates that the saint protects from any fall!

Another curious event is that one celebrated on August 15th in Pietraperzia, in the province of Enna, in honor of the feast of the Madonna della Cava. It is said that a deaf and dumb boy found the image of the Madonna while digging the earth and from that moment he had the use of the word again as a gift. The festival is organized in the Sanctuary where mass is celebrated at one in the morning, at the end of which is celebrated with a large and succulent dinner in the open air, based on traditional delicacies.

This is just a taste of the myriad of village festivals, festivities, and events that are experienced throughout Sicily! The best-known ones such as Sant’Agata, Santa Rosalia and Santa Lucia deserve a separate chapter!

As you can see, still nowadays Sicily offers a lot of traditions that always turn into a big party !!!