Pasqua (Easter) is perhaps the most celebrated holiday in Italy, with Settimana Santa (Holy Week) rites starting on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday. The south of Italy, especially Sicily, is particularly well-known for its solemn displays of religious devotion, which often include processions on Good Friday (Venerdì Santo), Holy Saturday (Sabato Santo), and Easter, when the festivities turn to joyous in nature.

Holy Week processions usually feature participants dressed in traditional costumes representing the personalities involved in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; other than Jesus, the two men crucified alongside him, and Pontius Pilate, there are often Roman soldiers and the penitent, even flagellants in places like Nocera Tirenese, in the province of Catanzaro in Calabria (video below).

Statues of the Madonna, dressed in mourning black until her son is risen, and also of Jesus are carried through town in processions that often last many hours, even an entire day; the faithful, often older women, may follow behind the procession barefoot to show their devotion.

The oldest Good Friday procession in Italy is said to be in Chieti in the region of Abruzzo, during which Selecchi's Miserere is played by 100 violins, and is the first video included below. The other videos show bits of Settimana Santa processions throughout southern Italy, including those in Caltanissetta (Sicily), Cagliari (Sardinia), Taranto (Puglia), and Nocera Tirenese (Calabria):

Even for non-Catholics or the non-religious, these holy rituals can be extremely emotional and moving; I highly recommend experiencing Easter in Italy at least once in your life.

Have you attended Settimana Santa rituals? What did you think or feel?