Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia

La Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia is the traditional and spectacular procession of the statue of the Assumption, deeply felt not only by the inhabitants of the area but also by devout pilgrims of the Assumption who participate in this event every year with the processions of the artistic wooden percolo of the relics of S.Ugo Abate .

Description of the Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia

The Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia begins onlast Sunday of July when the heavy wooden statue of Our Lady of the Assumption, is removed from the niche where it is placed to be placed on its fercolo and placed inside the main nave where it will remain for two weeks to be honored and venerated by the faithful who will dedicate prayers and masses to it.

The day 15 August, precisely on the occasion of August XNUMXth - in Menzagustu dialect - the day in which St. Assunta is celebrated, the eighteenth-century wooden statue sculpted by Filippo Colicci, is adorned with precious votive offerings received and raised by the bearers of the vara who carry it procession after kneeling in front of the Madonna singing the Regina Coeli.

The vara sees as scenography some candles arranged to climb and forming a sort of truncated pyramid in the center of which is the statue.

Greeted by "hurray" by the faithful, the statue weighing over a quintal is carried on the shoulders of the bearers up to the first stage of the journey which is the Abbey of Sant'Ugo where there will be a long stop to let the bearers rest after the very tiring climb faced.

The way of gait of the bearers is particular during the last stretch of the route where the fercolo will take three steps forward and two backwards in a sort of nameless dance that causes a slow return to the base with the statue that seems to swing through the narrow alleys of the city center until it reaches Piazza Bertolami from where the fireworks will explode and where the procession will make a further stop before returning definitively at the Duomo.

The history of the Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia

Thanks to the literary testimonies of some writers of the time, it seems that the creator of the Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia was the Great Count Ruggero after defeating the Saracens in the XNUMXth century. It should be considered that the conqueror of the cities of the Strait was preceded in the procession of celebrations by some banners, one of which depicted the Assumption.
And right under his image began the period of re-Christianization of Sicily.

The following century, precisely in the Novara area, the devotion to the Virgin Mary intensified through the work of the abbot Ugo, sent to the island by Bernardo di Chiaravalle to guide the Cistercian monks who had the figure of the Assumption as their reference.
Since then the festival has been celebrated in his honor.

When does the Feast of the Assumption take place in Novara di Sicilia

What the locals call At the Feast of Menzagustu, i.e. the Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia, which also includes the spectacular traditional procession of the statue of the Assumption begins the August XNUMXth evening ending the same night at the end of the planned processions.

Every five years, this celebration turns into the Apotheosis of the Assumption, as the traditional procession adds the Simulacra of 15 Saints which, for this event, are hosted inside the Cathedral. It is one of the most touching religious processions of the whole island and a splendid opportunity to enter the spirituality of the Sicilian town.

Where the Feast of the Assumption takes place in Novara di Sicilia

The festivities are celebrated in the Cathedral and the processions involve the entire historic center of Novara di Sicilia.

What to do during the Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia

Attending the Feast of the Assumption in Novara di Sicilia is an opportunity to visit this town in the province of Messina which is part of the Most beautiful villages in Italy.

In addition to Duomo, also worth a visit church of Santa Maria located in the hamlet of Badialavecchia, part of a Cistercian monastery dating back to the XNUMXth century and the XNUMXth century Church of San Nicolò characterized by a unique sandstone staircase.

The village is located on the border between the Nebrodi mountains and those Peloritans inside a green valley dominated by the scenic Rocca Leone and Rocca Salvatesta. These are places to visit together with the nearby Tindari, the village of Montalbano Elicona, the Alcantara Gorges and the ghost village of Schisina.

How to get to Novara di Sicilia

By car:, from the Barcelona PG motorway junction (Km. 30); from the Falcone motorway junction (Km. 20); from the Giardini-Naxos motorway junction (Km. 50).