THE PASSION EASTER ROUTE
The Holy Week rites in Sicily have a great representative strength. Easter in Sicily goes beyond the religious liturgy of official Catholicism. Symbolically and theatrically, the sense and the identity of different communities’ life are regenerated by following religious rituals and traditions that affect also those who are not believers and/or worshippers.
In the Passion of Christ’s rites and in the sacredness of its representation, lie the rites of earth, fertility, spring, which have been absorbed by the Christian tradition in the course of time. In Sicily, during the Passion Week, the days of sacrifice and pain are not merely consecrated to grief. Although during the representations black is the dominant colour, in many processions an explosion of colours, sounds and celebration is evident.
The rites and traditions that concern a part of Spain, Malta Island and other regions of the South of Italy have the same origin. In Spain the Passion Route has become a tool of territorial valorisation promoted by TurEspaña, which started a collaboration with the Phoenicians’ Route.
Therefore, within the “Sicily Sacra Network” project, we intend to promote the Sicilian Passion Route, a combination of a dozen symbols of this tradition. Mysteries, Vare and Processions start well before the Holy Week with the aim of adding value to the Lent, the preparation, and of narrating these wonderful traditions all the year round, when tourists and visitors cross these territories.
The Holy Week in Sicily and the Paths have a significant importance not only in a cultural-historical sense, but also for the attitude of contemporary world, which often runs the risk of losing its roots, especially referred to the youngsters. It is a way to rediscover the territory and its deep roots, when the journey is not only leisure but also a research for experience, meaning and, at the same time, promotion of the Sacred Paths network in Sicily.
Discover the stages of the Passion Route in Sicily:
Trapani – the Mysteries
Erice – the Mysteries
Marsala – the Mysteries and the Veroniche
Castelvetrano – the Aurora
Sciacca – Feast in honor of San Calogero
Piana degli Albanesi – Songs and Costumes
Prizzi – l’Abballu di li diavuli
Caltanissetta – the Real Maestranza and the Mysteries
Enna – Holy Friday
San Fratello – the Jews
San Biagio Platani – The Easter Arches
Scicli – u Gioia
Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto – the Varette and the Visilla
Furnari – Festivity of Our Lady of Trapani
Discover the stages of the Passion Route in Sicily on interactive map.
