Misteri Di Trapani
- 07/04/2023
- BIG EVENT
The Holy Week in this area of Sicily is lived in a very intense way. In Trapani there are solemn celebrations dedicated to Easter: Lent’s Fridays begin with a seventeenth-century rite called “I Scinnuti“, which provides religious services in tribute to the individual groups of Mysteries, kept in the church of Porgatorio.
But the most engaging moment is undoubtedly the Procession of the Mysteries of Trapani, a Good Friday rite that has been repeated for about 400 years and lasts 24 hours. This is a fascinating collective rite, which takes place in the monumental city centre with a procession of eighteen sculptural groups and two simulacra (Jesus in the urn and Our Lady of Sorrows) in “wood canvas and glue” which represent the Passion and Death of Christ. Each group is carried on ten men shoulders called massari, who perform a folkloristic move, the annacata, a move that follows the music played live by various bands.
The procession starts from the baroque church of the Anime Sante del Purgatorio, which hosts the groups, and runs through most of the city streets during a long night in a spectacle of lights, sounds, colours and emotions.
Ph. Giuseppe Sanalitro
