In a land of ancient traditions and great religious spirit, Holy Week offers a program that every day invites you to discover the most beautiful villages in Abruzzo, through the events that are renewed every year from Maundy Thursday until Easter Sunday. A way to participate in moments of great emotion and genuine spirituality.
Procession of the Hooded in Lanciano (CH): This is one of the most solemn rites of Holy Week that has been celebrated since the 16th century. For Christians it is the evening of the Last Supper, of betrayal, and, for this reason, members of a confraternity parade through the streets of the city, as an act of penitence, with hooded faces and dressed in long black cassocks with medallions with death symbols.
Chieti Dead Christ Procession: The procession of the Dead Christ in Chieti on Good Friday is one of the oldest and most solemn in Italy. Every year, thousands of the faithful participate in the procession through the streets of the ancient city, following the members of the archconfraternity of the Sacred Mount of the Dead who carry on their shoulders the statue of Christ deposed from the cross and the symbols of the Passion. Punctuating the Procession are the poignant notes of the Miserere composed in 1767 by Maestro di cappella Saverio Selecchy, entrusted to a choir of about 150 singers including tenors, baritones, basses and an orchestra of more than 100 elements. It is a moment of communion that unites the community in a crescendo of spirituality and emotion.
Struscio dei Trinitari (Sulmona): on Good Friday, what takes place in Sulmona is another exciting religious event that has involved the local community and visitors for generations. During this procession, members of the archconfraternity of the Trinitarians wear traditional clothes and carry heavy crosses along the narrow streets of the city. The march is accompanied by solemn funeral music and the prayers of the participants, creating an atmosphere of devotion and emotion. The procession represents the Virgin Mary’s grief over the death of her Son and reflects the deep spirituality of Holy Week. For residents and devotees, the Trinitarians’ Struscio is a sacred moment of remembrance and recollection, reinforcing the bond with faith and tradition.
La Desolata (TE): the ancient Good Friday procession is renewed again this year. Passing through the city, it will touch the main parishes as far as the Convent of Our Lady of Grace, then return by stopping at the Cathedral before returning to its starting point at first light. For devotees, it symbolizes the painful wanderings of the mother of Christ in search of her son condemned to death.
The “Living Passion” in Barrea (AQ): on Holy Saturday, in the characteristic village in the National Park of Abruzzo Lazio and Molise, among the alleys of the historic center, the Living Passion is staged, one of the most evocative events that take place during the Easter season in Abruzzo and which sees the participation of more than 150 characters including actors and figurants.
“La Madonna che véle” in Introdacqua (AQ): every year, on Easter Sunday, in the beautiful village in the province of L’Aquila, the ritual of the statue of the Madonna going to her resurrected son takes place. The ritual is the same for the Sulmona festival, only here the statue does not run away … but seems to fly (hence the name véle). The tradition has been repeated since the mid-19th century.
On the same day, a few kilometers away, in Sulmona (AQ), instead, “La Madonna che scappa” is celebrated: after the Easter Sunday Mass, the ritual of the narrative re-enactment of the encounter between the Mother of Jesus and the risen Christ is renewed in Piazza Garibaldi. The crowd leaves a “corridor” clear to allow the confraternity carrying the statue of Our Lady on its shoulders to reach, by running, the risen son, and during the run the statue loses its black cloak and veil, a symbol of mourning; if the sequence unfolds without hindrance the tradition predicts that the year will be auspicious. The rite dates back to the time of Celestine V.
These are just some of the many events that will characterize the Easter weekend, the ideal time to discover the beauty of Abruzzo’s villages, traditional food and wine products and some of Italy’s most beautiful sights, surrounded by welcoming and lush nature.
photo credits: Giancarlo Maladra
