News - What's on?

01/03/2012 The most religious and celebrated event in the year is marked by some of the most marvellous and memorable processions and Passion plays up and down the country.

The Neapolitan Riviera celebrates up and down the coastline. Sorrento hosts the famous “White Procession" the dawn of Good Friday and the "Black Procession" on the evening of Good Friday, where monks dress from head to toe in black and white tunics and re-enact the Passion of the Christ. This rather sombre and moving procession is accompanied by two choirs: the voices of children who open the procession and the Gregorian chant of "Miserere", sung by adults who close the procession.

Le Feste di Pasqua in Taranto, southern Puglia, is a time of high emotion and celebration. The Procession of the Addolorata and the Procession of the Mysteries is a fantastic spectacle of robe wearing bearers whom carry statues representing the Passion of Christ as they parade around the town. A must-see for those who really want to experience the real Italy for themselves.

Easter is one of the most important celebrations in the Italian calendar and Tuscany does it in style. On Easter Sunday, hundreds gather at the world-renowned Piazza del Duomo in Florence to experience the legendary Explosion of the Cart. Based on a tradition dating back to 1099, a dove-shaped rocket called a ‘Colombina’ is seen flying from the famous Duomo and ensures the city is wished good luck not only with harvests but in everyday life.

Every year throughout Italy, Easter is celebrated with successive festivals, shows, concerts, religious events and markets, liturgies and masses of midnight. The streets, in churches and throughout parishes they all celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the paschal mystery.