Religious festivals Italy

The Nivola is a centuries-old tradition that every year, on the Saturday closest to September 14, the Archbishop of Milan climbs on a kind of mechanical cloud (la nivola) to the highest point of the apse of the Duomo to recover the relic of a nail of the Holy Cross. The faithful have the opportunity to see this nail placed on the altar of the Duomo until Sunday. It is then returned to its original place. This tradition dates back to 1576, when the archbishop of the time implored the relic to end the plague epidemic.

Easter Sunday is the occasion to meet the statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in many Sardinian villages. The Meeting of Oliena is one of the most interesting because of its beautiful scenery and the traditional costumes worn by the participants. The procession takes the statue of the risen Christ from the small church of San Francesco da Paola in the east of the town to the portal of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in the heart of the old town. The statues meet in the square exactly.

On the occasion of the feast of Santa Francesca Romana, patron saint of motorists, in Rome, all vehicles can be blessed just outside the church of the same name, near the Colosseum. This is enough to prevent any accident! This tradition dates back to 1928 and sees every year institutional vehicles (police trucks...) and emergency vehicles (ambulances...) as well as citizens' personal cars meet. It is even said that some children go there in their small cars: it is better to be prepared!

Religious ceremonies are held throughout Holy Week in Castelsardo, but the most important one takes place on the last day, Easter Monday (Lunissanti). A long procession leaves from the fortified citadel to the nearby village of Tergu. Men dressed in white robes sing ancient hymns along the way. The pilgrimage covers 10 km to the ancient church of Nostra Signora, built around 1300. The return journey is made by the light of candles and oil lamps, in a very moving religious fervor.

This celebration, probably the oldest and most fascinating of Quartu Sant'Elena, dates back to the rituals of the Phoenicians and the cult of the god Adonis. Seven girls, richly dressed and embellished, parade on a chariot to the church of Sant'Andrea, chanting muttetus, poetic improvisations. These describe the different phases of the festivities, and ask Saint John the Baptist for protection for all the participants.

Sardinia prepares Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Christ with fervor. In Alghero, the Holy Week that precedes Easter is the occasion of huge night processions led by torches. The white Jermans of the Confraternita della Misericordia organize the processions, the choirs and the litanies chanted along the route. The crowd follows a seventeenth-century crucifix from a Spanish shipwreck that has been washed up by the sea. Representatives of Catalan villages are invited to participate in the procession in their traditional clothes.

This very popular festival gathers thousands of people who, dressed in their best traditional costume, gather in procession through the streets of Nuoro to Mount Ortobene, where stands the imposing bronze statue of Christ the Redeemer. At the same time, another procession starts at the church Delle Grazie to converge on the same point. The whole procession is led to the sound of launeddas and folk songs. In the evening, a ballo tondo, a traditional dance, is performed in the amphitheater of the village with the best dancers of the island.

The patron saint of the island is celebrated for two days with secular and religious events. The festivities start with a fireworks display on Cala Galetta. This is followed by a festival that puts fish in the spotlight. More than 6 tons of fried fish are offered to the population. A parade of Sardinian costumes is also part of the festivities that end with a torchlight procession. The statue of the saint is carried from the streets of the center to a boat on the sea.

A festival to which the Romans attach great importance: it is celebrated around the piazza San Giovanni in Laterano. Games, fireworks, music and various events are on the program. Born in 1891, the festa di San Giovanni Battista was celebrated during the summer solstice. During this night, many exorcisms were practiced because the popular belief was that witches fly over Rome, passing over the basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.

The Parco della Musica auditorium in Rome celebrates the Christmas holidays by hosting the Christmas festival in the auditorium (Natale Auditorium). The site, designed by the famous architect Renzo Piano, looks like a Christmas village with many activities, gastronomic or local craft stands and an ice rink. There are many concerts to attend, including the Roma Gospel Festival, which features the best contemporary gospel choirs, as well as shows (tales, puppets, classical orchestras, etc.).

In Italy, for the night of San Lorenzo, also known as the "Night of San Lorenzo's Tears", it's traditional to gather on the beach to admire the shooting stars, sparkling at this time of year. In Rome, there's no beach, but the San Lorenzo district celebrates its patron saint! For the occasion, fireworks are set off, processions take place and brass bands march past. San Lorenzo is one of Rome's most authentic neighborhoods, and even more so during this popular and festive festival.

A joyful popular celebration that has come back in vogue recently. On Via Andrea Doria, in the Trionfale district (northwest of Rome), donuts (the famous bigné di San Giuseppe) and sweet fried food are sold to the crowd to celebrate Saint Joseph's Day, which is also Father's Day in Italy. Sports events are organized as well as parades of bands and animations for children (make-up...). It is an important event for the inhabitants of the district who gather in large numbers in a good-natured atmosphere.

Today we celebrate the commemoration of the consecration of the first basilica, which dates back to 356, and the successive buildings on the Esquiline, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary would have appeared one day to Pope Libera to ask him to build a basilica where the snow would fall. The next day, flakes bleached the area of the current basilica. It is this miraculous event that is celebrated in Rome and, for the occasion, white flower petals are thrown in rain into the Pauline Chapel during a ceremony.

On the occasion of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Pope goes in the afternoon to Piazza di Spagna, at the foot of the Column of the Immaculate, since 1854. A religious ceremony and a blessing are performed there. Please note that the feast of the Immaculate Conception is a holiday in Italy. It is therefore likely that some restaurants or stores will be closed. It is also the day when Italians traditionally decorate their Christmas tree.