Easter traditions in Italy: 12 unmissable religious festivals

Easter week in Italy is one of the most important moments not only who is religious. The Whole of Italy, from North to South, is rich in ancient Easter traditions that have been handed down for centuries, from generation to generation. 

Somewhere between religious worship and the purest folklore, the celebrations preceding Easter Sunday are an experience to be experienced and better known. 

Suggestive, mysterious and moving: in this article, we'll introduce you to 12 of the most authentic and unmissable Easter traditions in Italy.

Around the Seventeen and Eighteen centuries the traditions of the "Processione delle Macchine" began to take place in Vercelli, Piedmont. In Italian "Macchine" literally means something like "machineries" or "cars", but in this case the term has nothing to do with it. "Macchine", in fact, are wooden sculptural groups. They are usually preserved inside the churches of the brotherhoods in Vercelli, but during Holy Friday, they are carried in procession.

Just the light of the torches illuminate the beautiful scene, while all around the members of the brotherhoods advance dressed in traditional costumes.

After the sculptural groups, the Archbishop follows, carrying the relic of the Holy Cross, and then the people. In the dialect of Piedmont they are called "the company of the shoves" ("la compagnia d’j arbuton"), for the many shoves that people push against each other to get the best view.

Speaking of Italian Easter traditions, we are taking you to ancient Jerusalem, instead. The Holy Friday procession is held in Romagnano Sesia, province of Novara, only in odd years. It's a 4 days celebration, during which more than 300 actors and extras perform the Via Crucis.

You'll see Legionnaires riding horses, and Veliti, the light-armed troops, following on foot: 14 scenes take place on the street of the little village which found itself living a new, ancient life during the Holy Week.

And what happens to Romagnano Sesia in even years? People do not perform Holy Week, but Epiphany, on January 6th.

If you think that this is the most incredible Easter tradition one can see in Piedmont, you certainly should continue reading.

The wonders of Orcia Valley (Val d'Orcia in Italian), in the hinterland of Siena, are renowned all over the world. However, there is a small village, Radicofani, whose Easter traditions are mostly unknown. In the last years, fascinated journalists and bloggers have begun to write about its splendor, because this small Tuscan village organizes something truly unforgettable.

It all begins during the Holy Thursday, when a Mass recalls the Last Supper and the Sepulchre opening. Candles, lights and candelabras are prepared, but also the attire and the symbolic food, like bread and biscuits (made without eggs). After the Mass and the Washing of the Feet, the Procession of Penitence takes place: it's opened by people walking barefoot and carrying a big cross and two lights, then the people whose feet were previously washed (representing the Apostles) and finally the people of Radicofani follow. The procession ends silently, waiting for the next day.

On Holy Friday, at 1 PM, "The Three Hours Agony" begins inside the Church of Sant'Agata. Next to the altar, masterpiece of Andrea della Robbia, some branches of boxwood, representing the Calvary, are lit by hundreds of small lights (in the past they were oil candles). In the evening, at 9.30 PM, it's time for the great "Dark Procession" (in italian "Processione Buia". Barefoot people carrying a big cross start the procession, followed by 24 hooded people, 12 members of the Brotherhood of Sant'Agata (in red), and 12 members of the Brotherhood of Misericordia (in white). Then members of other religious communities, the band, the parish and the people follow. The procession ends inside the Church of Sant'Agata, in front of the beautiful altar and the Calvary.

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If you reach the splendid castle town of Calitri during the Easter period, you will attend the traditional and evocative Holy Friday or Mystery procession. Exploring this gem, located in the province of Avellino, rich in history, art, culture, and a treasure trove of magnificent masterpieces, you will be fascinated by the solemn atmosphere.

During this commemoration, the penitents belonging to the confraternity of the Immaculate Conception parade, hooded, with their heads encircled by a crown of thorns and dressed in a white tunic. The origins of this fascinating ritual are very ancient since they date back to the First Crusade.

The unfolding of this event is accompanied by the slow cadence of the figures and by the mystical rolling of drums and centuries-old dirges, which add to the mysticism of the event.

Sorrento, and its beautiful peninsula, it's one of the place in Italy where Easter traditions are most alive. So old and suggestive, these traditions are made to move one's heart, whether it belongs to a curious tourist, or to a person living in Sorrento. In fact, from father to son, these traditions, with all their secrets, are transmitted and evoked, year after year, with the same emotion.

The night between Thursday and Friday is time for the "White Procession": around 3 AM, hundreds of people, wearing a white robe with a black belt, and the face covered by a white hood, proceed across the streets of Sorrento, evoking the sorrow of the Virgin Mary, searching for her son, betrayed and condemned to the cross. They are the "Belted People" ("Cinturiati" in italian), members of the Venerable Archconfraternity of Santa Monica.

On Friday evening, around 9 PM, it's time for another unmissable event, the "Black Procession", dedicated to Christ, dead on the cross. The hooded people wear a black robe, covering also their face, and they belong to the Venerable Archconfraternity of Death. Litanies and funeral marches are performed during both processions. Dozens of singers intone songs and psalms, asking for forgiveness.

These two processions share an ancient origin, but it seems that the solemn splendor we see today was influenced by Spanish domination. Moments so touching that can not leave anyone's heart indifferent. In Campania, however, these processions are just one of the most extraordinary Easter traditions to be performed in Italy. 

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Easter traditions in Noicattaro, small village not far from Bari, Apulia, are really scenic. Here, Easter is time for a big event starting from Holy Thursday.

However, it's probably the beginning the most intense event of the celebration, when the cross-bearer people, with a black robe, the face covered and a crown of thorns on the head, walk on their knees through the aisle of the church. After that, they flog their shoulders with an iron chain linked to their feet. Outside the church, a bonfire is started to pray for an abundant harvest. Then, around 9 PM, it's time to start the procession, which is opened by the cross-bearers, and followed by people carrying lights and children playing ratchets: it all evokes the Praetorian Guard that brang Jesus before Pilatus.

Friday is dedicated to the "Procession of the Naka", in other words the sarcophagus, in the shape of a cradle, where the body of Christ is put. Saturday is time for grieving and sorrow: at 2 AM, lit by candlelight, it's time for the Procession of Mary of Sorrow. Cross-bearer people and women, dressed in mourning wear, follow the statue of Mary and kiss its black veil. In the afternoon, the last event before Easter is the "Mystery Procession".

Ready to discover the last two and most beautiful Easter traditions of Italy?

Visiting Iglesias, an enchanting village with a rich historical, cultural, and natural heritage, you will explore its magnificent medieval center, full of religious events of remarkable impact during Holy Week. The centuries-old contaminations stemming from the long Spanish domination characterize the Easter rituals, whose protagonists are the babballottis, hooded and dressed in white, and lend sacredness and marked spirituality to this collective rite.

Among the highlights of the Iglesiente celebration, we mention the Procession of the Mysteries on Holy Tuesday, in which the figurants carry seven plastic representations that reenact the passions of Jesus. Another event on the calendar is the Holy Thursday procession, with the rhythmic and hypnotic melodies of the matraccas and drums, in which babballottis accompany the Madonna Addolorata along the route of the seven city churches to seek Jesus.

The baroque-style procession of the Descenso, which takes place on Holy Friday, the Easter procession, and S'Inserru one represent the culmination of the rituals.