The island of Sardinia is a part of Italy steeped in tradition and a good place to experience festivals and holidays. Here's an inside look at Sardinian Holy Week rituals.
Holy Week in Cagliari, the capital city of Sardinia
Holy week rites are still observed in Cagliari by three different brotherhoods of the historical quarters who lead the processions and rituals. The Easter Mysteries plays, heritage of the long Spanish domination of the island, start with the blessing of the palm leaves by the priest at a solemn mass on Palm Sunday and culminate on Ester Sunday. Rituals are accompanied by the polyphonic choirs called
Cantori, singers who perform ancient songs with lyrics about Christ's passion. The
Cantori use the music technique called faburden or fauxbourdon.
The first procession, by the Confraternity of the Holy Crucifix, is on the Friday before Palm Sunday, starting from Piazza San Giacomo. During the procession, seven 18th century statues are carried to seven other churches in town. On Holy Friday the Confraternita della Solitudine from the Church of San Giacomo carry the statues of Christ and the Virgin to the Cathedral. On Easter Monday, two different processions carry the statues of Christ and the Virgin who meet in front of the church. This moment is very intense and the Cantori sing while accompanying the statues inside the church to celebrate Christ's resurrection.
On Easter Sunday, church altars are adorned with small vases of flowers and grains grown in the dark so that they have an emerald green color. These small vases, called Su Nenniri, are ancient symbols of rebirth and resurrection, originally from an ancient pagan cult of the God Adonis.
Holy Week in Alghero on the west coast of Sardinia
The Alghero Easter Rituals are very striking. The mystery plays are performed in the churches in the ancient quarter by the 16th century brotherhood, the
Jermans Blancs or
Confraternita della Misericordia. The brothers sing ancient songs in Catalan.
The first procession, the procession de las damas, takes place on Friday evening on the week before Easter. A long parade of women dressed in black mourning clothes carry the Virgin from the church of San Francesco across the narrow streets of the old town. Another procession is performed on Good Friday when the statue of Christ is carried from the Misericordia Church to the Cathedral where it's placed on the altar. This is called the Ceremony of the alburament. Then the procession of the mysteries and afternoon solemn mass, called missa-fugi-fugi, take place in the Cathedral. Later in the evening there's another procession through the old town. During the night procession, pilgrims and the brothers carry lit candles wrapped in red paper called farols making the atmosphere particularly fascinating.
Lunisanti in Castelsardo, Sardinia
Another evocative ritual, called
Lunisanti, at Easter is held in Castelsardo on the night of Holy Monday. It starts at dawn in the beautiful Romanesque church of
Santa Maria di Tergu, in the countryside outside Castelsardo. After the mystery plays and mass, a long parade goes to the old town bastion wall, 8 kilometers from the church, and returns to the church where everybody enjoys lunch. In the late afternoon the procession leaves the church again to go back into town where only candles and lamps are lit along the streets, creating a fantastic atmosphere. The brotherhood
Confraternita di S. Croce wear long white hooded tunics and sing in two choirs of 24 members each - the Cantori and the Apustuli. They sing the Miserere and other medieval songs. The brothers also carry symbols of the Mystery and of Christ's death - chalice, chain, pillar, glove, whip, crown, cross, ladder, hammer and tongs, lance, and sponge. Other processions take place on Holy Thursday and Holy Friday.
Easter Sunday in Oliena, Sardinia
In this pretty town at the foot of Monte Corrasi in the Barbagia region, the very heart of
Sardinian pastoral culture, we have a beautiful procession during Easter Sunday. In the morning at Easter two different processions leave from two churches in the village, one carrying Christ's statue and the other carring the Virgin's statue. When the two processions and statues meet, everybody in the village starts shooting in the air, firing blanks, to celebrate the joyful moment of the reunion of Jesus and his mother during his resurrection. This moment is called
S'Incontru, the meeting or reunion. The atmosphere is absolutely joyful.
Holy Week in Iglesias, Spanish influence in Sardinia
The
Arciconfraternita of the Sacro Monte has been in charge of organizing and performing Christ's mystery plays during the Holy week rituals in Iglesias since 1616. The rites on Easter Sunday and the Tuesday after Easter are performed by another brotherhood called the
Confraternita of San Giuseppe. The rituals are very suggestive and strongly influrenced by la
Semana Santa in Spain.
Holy Week in Cuglieri, Sardinia
Five different Brotherhoods, called Cunfrarias Brotherhoods join the Easter celebrations in this lovely town in the Oristano area. They're in charge of keeping and performing Easter rituals and processions during Holy Week in the different churches around the town. The solemn celebrations take place at the
Basilica di Santa Maria della Neve, parish Church of Cuglieri.
