Experience Sicily

Tag: il Festino

  • Santa Rosalia Purifies the Evils

    “Il festivo,” which takes place on the evening of July 14, is a big street party that unifies Palermo’s citizens through a procession that symbolically purifies the city from the evils that have long afflicted it. For this annual celebration, each year Palermo commissions a new statue to represent its patron saint, Santa Rosalia. Like…

  • Healing Bones

    “Viva Palermo e viva Santa Rosalia!” July 14 and 15 marks the Feast of Santa Rosalia in Palermo. Last night was Il Festino, an event that I’ve blogged about in the past. Different from the revelry of Il Festino, on the 15th, citizens practice a solemn tradition: the clergy parade the saint’s bones through the city…

  • “Viva Palermo e Viva Santa Rosalia!”

    The main event of the Feast of Santa Rosalia is “il festino” on July 14. Il festino is a mix of folklore, religion, street food, socializing, and modern events such as art exhibitions and concerts. The city of Palermo swings into holiday mode, and after lunch, the Center’s streets are designated for foot traffic only.…

  • It was 1624, and Palermo was Under Siege

    During the late spring and summer of 1624, Palermo was under siege, but it wasn’t another foreign invader that was the perpetrator. This time it was a plague that afflicted more than 10,000 inhabitants. Things were looking pretty bleak until in early July, when a lost hunter had a vision: Santa Rosalia appeared to him…

  • Santa Rosalia before 1624

    Before 1624, Santa Rosalia (1130-1166) was a little-known, medieval-era saint. Her story is often compared to Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) because she too was the daughter of a Norman nobleman, who rejected a life of privilege and instead sought a life devoted to prayer and solitude. During her lifetime, Palermo and Sicily experienced an…

  • Palermitani Line Up on Il Festino

    On the day of the Feast of Santa Rosalia, July 15, Palermitani line up to get their babbaluce. And if you are nice to the vendor–who is often at his special babbaluce stand right on the street–he might agree to let you take his picture!

  • Babbaluce Sounds Like a Song, But It’s…

    “Babbaluce Belle Pronte” is music to the ears of revelers of the Feast of Santa Rosalia. (Beautiful and Ready to Eat Snails!) For Il Festino, which takes place annually on July 14 and 15, enjoying steamed snails tossed with garlic, olive oil, and fresh Italian parsley is a must.

  • Summer at Palermo’s Quattro Canti

    At the center of Palermo, the intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda is called Quattro Canti, or Four Corners. Quattro Canti is octagonal in shape, and it is flanked by four 18th century Baroque facades, each with a fountain and a series of statues. On the first level–the street level–are images representing the…

  • The Feast of Santa Rosalia is Days Away

    The preparations for il Festino for la Santuzza are underway in Palermo.