In the village of Castel di Lucio, Easter is a very heartfelt holiday which involves the creation of a series of events that combine devotion with folklore.
It certainly is one of them the forty hour of Castel di Lucio, a mystical moment that includes a certain scenography made with oranges.
Here's what it is and why take part in it.
What are the forty hours of Castel di Lucio
It is an event that announces the beginning of the Easter period, with 48 hours of uninterrupted prayers that serve to mark the arrival of the holiday: prayers, in fact, stop on Shrove Tuesday, the one before Ash Wednesday. The peculiarity of this appointment is not only the fact that you pray for two days in a row but also the fact that you do it in a small church in the historic center of Castel di Lucio which for the occasion is decorated with beautiful decorations of intertwined oranges, rigorously from the area. At the end of the 48 hours of prayers, the oranges are dismantled and distributed to all the faithful who took part in the celebrations.
The history of the forty hour of Castel di Lucio
What story is hidden behind the demonstration of forty hours of Castel di Lucio? In reality, the origin of this celebration is very uncertain and there is no reliable data on his birth. It is probably a habit born from the devotion of some faithful who wanted to ask for a grace or to honor Jesus for having received one, hence the desire to pray for 48 hours in a row without ever stopping. In any case this custom that is organized before the Easter of Church of San Carlo Borromeo it has been consolidated for centuries and there are always numerous faithful who decide, year after year, to take part in it.
When the forty hours of Castel di Lucio are held
Le forty hours of Castel di Lucio they begin at dawn on the Sunday before Easter and end on the following Tuesday, the one called Shrove Tuesdaywith the celebration of the Eucharistic mass. A second step is then that of Palm Sunday in ways very similar to the previous event. Contrary to what one might imagine, prayer really does not stop for 48 hours and for the entire duration of the celebration the faithful remain in their place, on the church pew.
Where the forty hours of Castel di Lucio are held
Le forty hours of Castel di Lucio are organized in Church of San Carlo Borromeo, which is managed by the brotherhood of San Carlo. However the same celebration is repeated a few days later, and precisely the Palm Sunday, but this time the location is different as it is organized in the Church of the Blessed Sacrament. What does not change, however, is the decoration of the church which also in this case is made with fresh oranges which are intertwined to form crowns and real choreographies.
What to do during the forty hours of Castel di Lucio
Who decides to take part in the forty hours of Castel di Lucio will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to discover some hidden corners of this village, a suggestive land rich in history and culture. Obviously the tour can only start from Church of San Carlo Borromeo, built in the nineteenth century and scenario of the main event. Very beautiful, however, also the Church of Our Lady of Grace which is that mother and is a seventeenth-century structure born from the union of different, small structures. Inside there are some works of great value, such as the stone ciborium. Castel di Lucio, however, is most famous for the River of Art which is a open-air museum which collects some very suggestive and emblematic contemporary works. Among these the most famous is certainly Il Ariadne's labyrinth. Finally, nature lovers can stroll in the natural Park which is located along the Tusa river where you can admire the local fauna and flora in their natural habitat.
How to get to Castel di Lucio
Who do you want to reach by car Castel di Lucio to participate in the quaranturi, can do so starting from Messina and along the A20 and then the E90.
The same road can also be traveled from Palermo and Trapani while those coming from Catania will have to follow the A19.
From Syracuse, on the other hand, you have to take the E45 while from Enna you follow the SS120.
Castel di Lucio does not have its own railway station so whoever decides to reach the village on the train must refer to the stations of Santo Stefano di Camastra, Pollina or Tusa and then continue to their destination with the bus numbers of the AST lines.
