Easter in Italy. The most beautiful processions and traditions

The traditional Easter oxen of Florence ^{_{Photo: stock.adobe.com/gimsan}}

Easter has nothing to do with pastel-coloured chocolate eggs and cute bunnies. When Holy Week dawns in Italy, the country is transformed into a stage for centuries-old dramas.

Penitents carry heavy crosses, devils dance through the alleyways and fireworks explode in front of Florence Cathedral. The air smells of incense, melted wax and sweat. The drumming of brass bands thunders in the pit of your stomach, while hooded figures parade through the narrow streets in the flickering torchlight. Those who celebrate Easter in Italy do not experience a quiet spring festival, but an archaic theatre play about life, death and resurrection. It is a fascinating mixture of faith and pagan heritage.

We have compiled the most spectacular rituals in the country - places where the Settimana Santa, Holy Week, an exceptional experience.

1. when the sky is on fire: explosion and fire rites

The flying spark of Florence, the Scoppio del Carro
It's Easter Sunday in the Piazza del Duomo in Florence. White, flower-decorated oxen pulled a nine-and-a-half metre high, historic float in front of the cathedral. Then the highlight: during the mass, the archbishop lights a rocket-propelled, iron dove (the Colombina). Hissing, it races out through the nave on a wire rope, hits the carriage and sets off a deafening, minute-long spectacle of fireworks. A ritual that has promised good harvests for almost 1,000 years.

2. under hoods and by torchlight: mystical processions

The ghosts of Enna, the Processione degli Incappucciati
On Sicily time stands still on Good Friday. In Enna, thousands of members of historical brotherhoods parade through the completely darkened streets at night. Their faces are hidden under pointed hoods. Accompanied only by monotonous Gregorian chants and the quiet shuffling of their shoes, they carry their grief for Christ through the night.

Mantua in Lombardy: the quiet star among the cities

3. masks, whips and anarchy: the dance of the devils

The battle for the soul in Prizzi, the Ballo dei Diavoli
Easter as a horror performance: in the Sicilian town of Prizzi, red devils with terrifying zinc masks and a „Death“ dressed in yellow take over the streets on Easter Sunday. Armed with swords, they dance around wildly, approach passers-by and ritually try to prevent the statues of Jesus and Mary from meeting. A loud and magnificently staged battle between good and evil.

The rebirth of Rimini

4. the agony of the bearers: giant statues and penitential rituals

The 24-hour marathon of Trapani (Misteri di Trapani)
It is one of the longest religious events in Europe. On Sicily on Good Friday, hundreds of men carry 18 heavy wooden statues depicting the Passion of Christ. The procession lasts an incredible 24 hours. The statues sway in the so-called Annacata-step to the beat of the brass bands. The exhaustion and dedication of the bearers is palpable.

Chains on cobblestones in Castiglione di Garfagnana (Crocioni procession)
Maundy Thursday in the Tuscany: After the fair, the Crocione on the plan. An anonymous penitent, who takes on the role of Christ, wanders through the village barefoot, laden with a heavy cross and shackled in rattling chains. The scratching of the metal on the stones in the absolute silence of the night gives you goose bumps.

5 The grand finale of the world church

The Way of the Cross (Via Crucis in the Colosseum)
It is the image that goes around the world: on Good Friday evening, the Pope personally leads the Stations of the Cross in front of the ancient backdrop of the Roman Colosseum. Thousands of pilgrims stand in the darkness with lit candles, while readings and prayers trace Jesus' path of suffering at 14 stations. A moment in world history that epitomises the power of the Italian Easter celebration.

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