Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Festa di Santa Rosalia spans three solid days, with the patroness paraded down Corso Vit-
torio Emanuele from the cathedral to the waterfront in a grandiose
carro triunfale
(tri-
umphal carriage), flanked by adoring crowds. In Catania, the Festa di Sant'Agata in early
February also lasts for three days, with over a million devotees pouring into the streets to
follow a silver reliquary bust of the saint. Syracuse's mid-December Festa di Santa Lucia,
while smaller, is celebrated with similar fervor. All three festivals are accompanied by
spectacular fireworks.
Cu mancia fa muddica.
He who eats leaves breadcrumbs. (If you do something wrong, people will find out.)
Easter celebrations mark the high point in Sicily's religious calendar. Settimana Santa
(Holy Week) is traditionally a time for Sicilians to take time off from work, get together
with their families and participate in religious observances. Many places around the island
celebrate Holy Week with elaborate processions. The most famous of these is Trapani's I
Misteri, a four-day event in which 20 life-sized statues representing different moments in
Christ's Passion are carried through the streets by members of the city's traditional guilds.
Other cities covered in this guide that have noteworthy Easter processions include Caltan-
issetta, Lipari and Enna.
Testa c'un parra si chiama cucuzza.
A head that doesn't speak is called a pumpkin. (If something's on your mind,
don't keep it to yourself!)
