|
Feast of the Madonna of the Letter
|
When:
|
31 Aug 2008 (annual)
|
|
Where:
|
Palmi
|
| Costs: |
Free
|
| Opening Hours: |
All day
|
The Feast of the Madonna of the Letter is a spectacular civic and religious procession, steeped in folklore and much loved by the locals, that takes place in Palmi on the last Sunday of August.
Preparations for this feast day, the town's most important popular religious celebration, begin two weeks in advance, around the feast day of San Rocco, the "co-patron" of the city. There are special masses, folkloric processions and performances of various kinds.
On the morning of the day itself there are several processions, including the spectacular ride of the Giganti, before the parade proper begins in the early afternoon, heralded by a cannon shot from the local fort.
The main procession is momentous. An enormous cart, 16 metres in height, represents the Ascension of the Virgin to Heaven. On the first level of the cart, the base or Cippu, which represents both the earth and the civil liberties of Palmese citizens, you'll find the apostles, some angels, a priest and a cleric, several young men and the empty seat of the Madonna.
On the levels above this you'll see more angels, clad in beautiful robes and vestments; two huge rotating discs, one golden and the other made of silver, adorned with flower garlands, representing the sun and the moon. Even higher hangs an azure globe representing the Earth, on which is seated the Padreterno, God, and above the Earth, virtually suspended in the void and surrounded by 12 stars, hangs the Animella, the young woman who represents the Madonna.
The celebration is also a bit of a beauty pageant. Every year the nubile young women of the city compete for the title of Animella (little soul) and the honour of representing the living Madonna on the cart as it is pulled through the city. A handsome young man is also chosen to represent God: a set-up which would have medieval theologians dying of heresy or embarrassment, but which makes for an entertaining spectacle.
|