Today, October 26, we celebrate the National Day of Folklore and Popular Traditions, established on July 31, 2019.
From north to south, Italy is a mosaic of unique cultures, flavors and celebrations.
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Tuscany: Carro explosion
In Florence, the Scoppio del Carro renews an ancient tradition with a complex and fascinating genesis, steeped in the memory of crusades, stones from the Holy Sepulchre – which when rubbed light up in a sacred fire, distributed (today symbolically) to the faithful on Easter Sunday – and important auspices for the year to come.
(Taken from: Tuscany. Land of Art and Wonders / Land of Art and Wonders ed. Sime Books)
Puglia: the procession of the mysteries (Good Friday)
The people of Taranto love to repeat that a few days before Easter the weather becomes sad, shedding tears of pain for the death of Christ. And if this happens it is really a problem, because it upsets the slow and exhausting rhythm of the processions, forcing the precious papier-mâché sculptures to a forced march.
Year after year the Passion is renewed and, between a funeral march and a silence full of expectation, the bright streets of the towns flow like in a feature film of yesteryear and the balconies seem to touch, as low as they are, the Sorrowful Mother or the dead Christ. I have always let myself be dragged into the undulating flow of the Mysteries, together with the faithful and penitents, immersing myself in age-old rites and following with my gaze the approach of the groups, under whose weight the brothers stagger and sweat. Even the most agnostic seem to participate in the pain of the Mother who has lost her Son. The children – just like me then – take shelter behind their parents at the sight of the pardons, those severe hooded ones who mark the rhythm of so many Holy Weeks in Puglia: perhaps it is because of the absence of eyes, replaced by two tiny slits similar to the heads of black pins, or because of their exasperating nazzecare or even because of the wounds they show on their bare feet, tormented by the march. The darkness advances: only in San Marco in Lamis do the streets light up with bonfires, illuminating Christ's path to Calvary. And I think that at the same time, from one end of Puglia to the other, it is the darkness that swallows up thoughts and notes, vows and faces, devotion and sweat. The night seems to expand, sleep never comes, until the light of dawn shows our tired but composed faces. There is now little time left until the return to church, which all the crowded citizens, gathered in a single embrace, will greet with tears and a roar of applause. We will all finally go to rest: tomorrow is Easter!
(Taken from:Puglia. Between sea and sky (ed. Sime Books)
Sicily: the feast of Saint Agatha
In February, Catania hosts the festival of Sant'Agata, which rivals the spectacularity of Holy Week in Seville and the Feast of Corpus Domini in Cuzco, Peru. In July, Palermo celebrates its patron saint, Santa Rosalia, with parades , floats and fireworks . But in Sicily, they don't just celebrate saints. I knew that in February, in Agrigento, in the setting of the Valley of the Temples, the Sagra del Mandorlo in f iore takes place, celebrating the arrival of spring, with a riot of white and pink colors. What I didn't know when I was there, however, is that the festival has become increasingly important over the years, so much so that it hosts a folklore festival, with music, theater and restaurants that offer almond-based menus, from appetizers to dessert.
(Taken from: Sicily, The Island - The Island ed. Sime Books)
Calabria: Palmi, the Varia festival
Traveling through Calabria, I discovered an incredible wealth of dialects, legends, origins, customs and traditions. Not to mention the religious celebrations, which here are truly astonishing.
In Palmi, near Reggio, at the end of August I met Elisea, a beautiful twelve-year-old girl who the town had selected for the role of the Madonna in the Varia procession.
Elisea did not feel scared or uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, she seemed rather amused: soon she would be literally carried in procession on a spectacular 15-meter-high float, on the shoulders of 200 boys! After an interruption of about twenty years, the Varia has finally begun to flow solemnly along the streets of Palmi and takes place every year on the last Sunday of August.
(Taken from: Calabria. Terra Incognita (ed. Sime Books)
