Tour of Sicily’s Saints and Patrons
A tour designed to discover the ancient religiosity of this land, that gave the Church five Popes and countless Saints. A journey through history, legends and myths embodied in a population that exalts the Saints, and enjoys pagan rites: festivals and traditions that have the same fervour and dedication they enjoyed in the past centuries. The Saint Patrons are Rosalia and Agata, patrons of Palermo and Catania; Calogero, patron of the city of temples, Agrigento. Saint Lucy is venerated in Syracuse, while in Messina people has an enormous devotion to the Virgin Mary. Saint George and Saint Conrad are celebrated in the Baroque cities of Ragusa and Noto; Saint Joseph is celebrated all over the island. One can only be fascinated by the rites, processions and holy mysteries of Easter: in Trapani, the procession reminds the Andalusian ones, and lasts twenty-four hours. The procession in Enna, in the heart of Sicily, takes place on Good Friday and more than two thousand hooded confreres in absolute silence accompany the procession.