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Sicilian Easter I [west]: Good Friday Processions in Trapani & Erice

hoisting jesus on the cross

 

21.04.2011. Erice, Sicily

woke up at the crack of dawn & caught a flight to Palermo. stepping off the plane against a striking backdrop of cliffs i was thinking it's about time we set foot in Sicily—the island that perhaps Sleepingfish owes it's name. rented one of those new hybrid manual/automatic [clutchless] Fiat 500s & drove west, stopping first in the golfo di Castellammare to put our feet in the turquoise water. then inland to Segesta, the site of some ancient Greek ruins dating back to 420 B.C.

Segesta

Segesta

 

eagle over Seggesta

the landscape was spectacular, rugged & wildflowers everywhere. on to Trapani where we had lunch at Antichi Sapori, insanely good seafood & pasta. then went to Scopello & to the Zingaro nature reserve. everything was in bloom & pristine, almost like it was a landscaped botanical garden, an incredible amount of biodiversity & wildflowers [over 600 species of plants] on cliffs dropping down to the crystal clear sea.

Zingaro beach

beach at Zingaro

then we went back to the hilltown of Erice, checked into our hotel & walked around. had dinner at Pentolaccia, i had pesto trapanese which is hardly like it's genoese cousin, but good. in Trapani they substitute almonds for pine nuts & sauce it up with cherry tomatoes & red pepper flakes. initial reactions... Sicilian food is even better than the mainland [if you like seafood & spice] but they are slow & shitty drivers.

Erice, Sicily

corner in Erice, Sicily

 

castle in Erice

looking down from Erice to Trapani

 

erice grid

streets of Erice

 

telecommunication

 

castronovo

statue in Erice park

 

Erice cathedral

Erice cathedral

 

sardines

stuffed sardines


22.04.2011 [Good Friday]

we had high hopes of taking a gondola down the mountain from Erice to Trapani, but when we got there it wasn't running, presumably from the high winds & rain. so we drove & parked, then walked around Trapani waiting for the «misteri processione» to start. looked in some tidepools, walked around the harbor then ate at Antichi Sapori again [this time i had cous-cous with broth & fried seafood—normally i'm not a big fan of cous-cous but this was the tastiest i've ever had].

layers of seaweed

piled layers of seaweed on Trapani beachfront

 

trapani typography

typography museum in Trapani

 

trapani harbor

where the seafood comes from

the Procession of the Mysteries of Trapani [Misteri di Trapani] is one of the oldest running good friday [venerdì santo] festivals in Europe, dating back to before 1612. it's essentially a day long procession [starting friday afternoon & going all night until saturday afternoon] re-enacting the «passion» [i.e. death] of Jesus with 20 floats or stations, each built & carried by the various guilds of Trapani. it's a tradition that hasn't changed much over the years, except members of the procession used to wear hoods [much like the ones the KKK have since bastardized] to conceal their identities when repenting [a tradition banned in the 60s so mafia members couldn't hide from the police, but now legal again, at least in Corleone [yes, the Corleone of Godfather fame] & Enna] & some used to flagellate themselves with nail-studded whips [still practiced elsewhere in Sicily & in Spain & Mexico & the Philippines]. the repentance or self-punishment in Trapani these days amounts mostly to carrying the heavy floats around the streets for 24 hours. the accompanying music & the way the band & men carrying the floats swayed when marching was most striking & at times haunting [something not adequately captured in these photos & video].

 

processione station church

in the church before the procession

 

priests leading the procession

priests leading the procession

 

spoliation goldsmith handkerchief

the first station [the spoliation [spogliazione] as carried by the goldsmith guild

 

misteri processione weeping

the goldsmiths shouldering a load

 

fishermen

station #2 [the washing of his feet, as carried by the fishermen]

 

bread offering

girls carrying various offerings/objects [bread, fish, nails, whips, etc.]

 

white hooded girl

white-hooded flower carrier

 

carrying the crown of thorns

carrying the crown of thorns

 

the goldsmith clapper

the goldsmith with the clapper [signaling when to lift]

 

negation of barbers

station #7 [the negation, as carried by the barbers & haircutters]

 

pilate fruit vendors

station #6 [Jesus before Pontius Pilate? ['Gesù davanti Hanna'], as carried by the fruit vendors]

 

dapper man & flower girl

another flower girl & a dapper man

 

metallurgists arrest

station #4 [the arrest, as carried by the metallurgists]

 

bambino angel

bambino angelo

we watched for a few hours then decided to go back to Erice to catch the end of their procession, which was smaller [only 6 stations & lasting only 6 hours]. the stations were also not as big & heavy but most of them only had 4 guys carrying them & the streets were steep slippery cobblestone.

 

erice church

procession going by Erice cathedral

 

blind porters

blinged out pallbearers

 

carrying cross

shouldering the cross

 

hoods carrying cross

 

jesus cross tower

 

needing direction

the Mary carriers

it was cold so we stopped & got a glass of wine in a bar & then once we sat down all the members of the procession filed in for free food & drink [the processions typically stop in front of businesses to ask for a donation]. the already sweaty & weary pallbearers gulped down beer & whiskey then stumbled out to carry the floats the rest of the way back to the church.

break in bar

red riding hoods in the bar

 

jesus drinking wine

an angel giving Jesus a nip to keep him going?

 

rounding the last corner

rounding the last corner

 

drive-by mary

carrying Jesus past a stationary Mary

 

mary carriers

the honor of carrying Mary

 

mourners red-robed

then we ate at Monte Sangiuliano, which was really good. i had the sardines [shown above] & ravioli with squid ink & ricotta. have also had Sicilian pecorino a few times, but for the most part it's bland compared to Pecorino Romano or Sardo.

... ONWARD TO CENTRAL SICILY

 

 

 

 

©om.Posted 2011 Derek White

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