Festival of the Vara in Fiumedinisi

La Festival of Vara it is a tradition that dates back to the Spanish domination and involves the community of Fiumedinisi in a religious rite very heartfelt. La Vara is a votive structure where there are child actors, clergymen and master craftsmen, each with a different role and a ritual that has been repeated since the XNUMXth century. During the procession, songs and litanies are recited in the ancient dialect for pay homage to the Madonna.

The Festival of the Vara of Fiumedinisi

Nine weeks before the big event, the faithful prepare for the Festa della Vara with special liturgies.

The previous day takes place a penitential procession, a little procession indeed yes move to knees laid down by the Church of St. Peter to that ofAnnunziata. After the preparatory celebrations, the Archbishop of Messina begins the Festa della Vara with a mass in the Sanctuary of the Annunziata.

La vara è a votive machine from the seventeenth century with a wooden and iron structure that is about eleven meters long and one meter seventy wide.

At a height of seven and a half meters it comes set up a globe on which a seat is fixed, a small throne ready to welcome a child dressed as the Almighty. Two other children are further down and play the Archangel Gabriel and the Madonna and other little actors between 10 and 14 are dressed as angels. On the Vara there are also the heirs of the master carpenter and the master mason who built the votive machine in the seventeenth century, the archpriest of Fiumedinisi and the bishop of Messina. 150 faithful, called devotees, support the weight of this scaffolding which is around 2 tons without the actors and clergymen. The bearers are dressed in civilian clothes when they carry the Vara from the Annunziata to the Church of San Pietro, while in the afternoon, when they bring the votive structure back to the Church of the Annunziata, they wear a traditional white dress. As the procession passes, the faithful shout: "Evviva Maria" and the event ends with a dialectal song, played by the three child actors, which has been handed down for centuries. During the year the Vara is dismantled and kept in the church of San Pietro and in that of San Nicola.

The history of Fiumedinisi and the Festa della Vara

Fiumedinisi it's a old village in province of Messina which is on the eastern side of the Peloritani mountains.

The country founded by Greek colonists has an important development in the Middle Ages with the Kingdom of Sicily. Subsequently, during the anti-Spanish revolt at the end of the 1600s, Fiumedinisi remained faithful to the king who rewarded the city with the reconstruction of the buildings destroyed by enemy raids. The rich palaces of the remain from this period Old Town with the churches and also the Festa della Vara. The festivity therefore originates in the seventeenth century during the Spanish domination and in the past it was celebrated on March 25 with the morning parade of the members of the Confraternita dell'Itria and those of the Annunziata.

When the Festa della Vara takes place in Fiumedinisi

The Festa della Vara takes place every 5 years la second Sunday in August.

Where the Festa della Vara takes place

The Festa della Vara begins at the Sanctuary of Maria SS. Announced and follows the so-called "road to Vara", via Umberto I, in the historic center and in the afternoon returns to the Mother Church of Fiumedinisi.

What to do during the Festa della Vara

The Festa della Vara begins at the Mother Church of Fiumedinisi which dates back to the XNUMXth century. Over time the building was enlarged and embellished with many works of art, partly destroyed during the anti-Spanish revolt and with a fire. However, the structure retains an ancient charm.

The symbol of Fiumedinisi is the Belvedere castle, from the XNUMXth century. Inside the fortification there are the remains of a cistern and in the walls you can see the loopholes that the archers used to throw their arrows. Just outside the town there is the Fiumedinisi and Monte Scuderi Oriented Nature Reserve, where it is possible to take walks in an environment with a very varied flora and fauna.

How to get to the Church of the Annunziata in Fiumedinisi to see the Festa della Vara

By car:: from Messina take the A20 motorway from Viale Boccetta and continue for 2,4 km until the Roccalumera exit. Continue on the SP27 in the direction of Salita II Martire in Fiumedinisi where the Church of the Annunziata is located.