Tag:  settimana santa

• March 31, 2015

  Holy Week Preview

  This week leading up to Easter Sunday is Holy Week or “La settimana santa.” In Sicily, many, many towns celebrate various sacred rites each day of the week, the height of which are practiced on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Such practices date back centuries and are rooted in deep tradition. For example, in Enna…

• April 18, 2014

  A “Pietà” in Palermo

  The baroque Chiesa di Sant’Anna la Misericordia (Church of St. Anne the Merciful) in Palermo was consecrated in 1639. Before Santa Rosalia became Palermo’s patron saint, Saint Anne was one of the four co-patrons of the city. The facade of church, shown here, has been restored several times due to damage by earthquakes over the…