FETE DE SANTA LUCIA RE QUAGGHIE

The feast of the patron saint of Syracuse, whose name in the local dialect means doves, is held every year in May. It celebrates the miracle of 1646, when a dove entered the cathedral to announce the arrival of ships loaded with grain as famine ravaged the city. On the first weekend, the statue is taken out of its niche, carried from the chapel to the altar, and the solemn Eucharistic celebration takes place in the cathedral before the doves are released. The following weekend, a procession of the faithful parades through the streets of Ortigya.