Chris and I wanted to get a taste of how the Sicilians celebrate Easter and to do that we headed to a hilltop town in the center of Sicily with roots going back to the Phoenicians and Greeks, Romans and Normans. It’s the town of Enna – known as the umbilicus of Sicily. It’s famous for the pageantry and cultural traditions of its Good Friday events when thousands of confraternities dating back to medieval times, don hooded cloaks in different colors and form processions honoring Mary and Jesus. It’s overwhelming in its beauty.
The hooded figures certainly bring up bad connotations for anyone familiar with the American South….but the history of the hoods dates back to townspeople wanting to maintain their anonymity – for charitable acts or to atone for their sins.
The week began with Palm Sunday and each day there were masses or rituals. On Friday, the local band begins the March from the Cathedral and hundreds follow.
Chris and I followed the crowds up to the Duomo
Later that evening – holding torches, more participants joined the procession. The ceremony lasted into the night.
But as usual, we found time to explore the other interesting aspects of Enna – including the great food!
Scenes from Enna
At the top of the hill is an ancient castle from the Norman times as well as the path leading to the lake where Demeter/Ceres went looking for Persephone. Lots of history in Sicily!!!
We head to Palermo!
“To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.”
– Goethe
Palermo!!!!
We arrived on the Saturday before Easter and checked into a great apartment centrally located in the old historic part of Palermo. We had read they were going to do a few special operatic concerts at Teatro Massimo and we were able to get a few tickets to view the theater and listen to some arias. It was delightful!
Chris and Ellen’s 2022 European Adventure 