A Calata di San Fulippu is an extraordinary and folkloristic Sicilian religious event, unmissable and exciting. It is, in fact, a hasty and crazy race down a steep path of a group of faithful carrying the statue of a black saint on a stretcher.
The descent takes place on the occasion of feast of the patron saint in Calatabiano, province of Catania.
La third Sunday of May, in this ancient village of Alcantara river park, you can witness one of the most electrifying and picturesque religious events in all of Sicily.
The festival has very ancient roots that date back to 1766 and is repeated every year on time, with the traditional rituals followed with passion and moved devotion by the faithful of the patron saint whose history, dating back to the beginning of the Christian era, is linked to evangelization of the island.
The descent of San Fulippu it is not, however, just a religious event: it is a fascinating tourist attraction that attracts a large number of visitors every year from outside Sicily to witness the eventful transfer of the statue of Holy long the bumpy path that leads from the medieval castle to the town.
The story of Saint Philip the Syriac
San Filippo the Syrian, patron saint of Calatabiano, is also known as Saint Philip of Agira o Constantinopolitan. He was born in Syria around 40 AD and, as a child, his parents educated him in the Christian cult that was beginning to spread at that time.
At a very young age, just twenty-one, he went to Rome, where he was ordained a priest Saint Peter. History is intertwined with legend in the story of the gift that the Supreme Pontiff gave to the young Philip: the gift of understanding all languages and dialects and the ability to free the possessed from the clutches of the devil.
The sources narrate that St. Peter sent him, together with other priests, to Sicily to evangelize it. They landed near Messina, in a tiny fishing village, Punta Faro, after stopping in Salerno and Calabria.
From Punta Faro, Philip continued south, along the Ionian coast of the island. He arrived in Calatabiano, where he exorcised various possessed people and converted the inhabitants to the new belief, supplanting the myth of Hercules in vogue among the local populations.
The Saint who chased demons
Legend has it that the devil used to challenge Philip to test the power of God. One day Philip, having freed himself from the strong chains with which the devil had imprisoned him, tying his bitter enemy with a thread of his own beard, drove him away into the hell from where he returned blackened by soot.
For this reason, in popular tradition it is called San Fulippuzzu u niuru (St. Philip the black) and the statues that depict him they have dark faces.
The party in Calatabiano, the descent
According to tradition, the wooden statue of San Filippo must be carried on the shoulders of one hundred faithful Church of the SS Crucifix (on Monte Castello, near the medieval castle) to the Mother Church of the Annunziata, in the center of the town, in just a few minutes: the transfer, therefore, takes place in a rush, a reckless and dizzying race that excites the faithful who attend out of devotion and the tourists who remain fascinated by the unusual spectacle .
Saint Philip the exorcist, as we have seen, chased demons to Hell and the race with the statue is intended to be a revisitation of his own races.
The Descent of San Fulippu has precise rituals that have been handed down for generations and which begin on Saturday morning when the decoration of the litter (fercolo) on which the statue is subsequently placed begins with blessed flowers.
At 18,30 pm sharp, three cannon shots start the descent and the bearers rush headlong down towards the center of the town.
The tour and ascent of San Filippo in Calatabiano
At dusk on Sunday, the procession takes place through the streets of Calatabiano during which the statue is transported on a fercolo equipped with wheels. The procession of the Saint, in dialect, is called u giru (round).
At the end of the tour, San Filippo returns to the church accompanied by fireworks which make the conclusion of the intense and participatory procession even more touching and evocative.
In the church of the Annunziata, the statue remains for seven days. After a week, the following Sunday, San Filippo goes back up Monte Castello: è the acchianata which happens exactly at seven in the evening.
It is the same path of the abseil followed backwards. The steep climb pays off the acchianata much more tiring. The fercolo sways fearfully due to the effort of the carriers who fight with all their strength to keep it from falling to the ground and to carry it to its destination unharmed.
Arriving at the church at the top of the mountain, the bearers allow themselves a well-deserved rest while the faithful, out of devotion, collect the flowers, now withered, which decorate the litter.
The statue of the saint will remain in the small church near the castle throughout the year, waiting for the warmth of May and the next descent into the town.
Curiosities about the Calata di San Fulippu
The transport of the statue of the saint from the mountain to the town takes place, as we have seen, in a hurry: the journey, according to tradition, must be covered very quickly, even in just six minutes.
The acchianata is much more tiring and heavy than the abseil for which it constitutes a sort of entrance exam. The faithful who aspire to become bearers during the descent must participate in the ascent for at least six years in a row. Only if they pass the test can they be promoted to bearer for the dizzying descent.
To remember the beard threads that Saint Philip used to capture the devil, the bearers, braided in their hair, wear three threads: one red, one yellow and one green.
The wearers' clothing includes a shirt, the color of which changes every year, and a scarlet handkerchief tied around the neck.
