Feast of Santa Maria Maddalena in Alimena

Alimena, a village in the Madonie, celebrates the To the boss, Santa Maria Maddalena with liturgies, music and shows they attract tourists, an event that is an expression of the history and culture of the village.

Description of the feast of Santa Maria Maddalena in Alimena

The religious feast of Santa Maria Maddalena is fixed in the ecclesiastical calendar on July 22, but Alimena commemorates the patron saint on September 1 because, on this date, the farmers are less busy working in the fields. Since August 29, the community has been preparing for the event with liturgies at the Mother Church which are also accompanied by evening concerts and cultural events such as exhibitions or book presentations.
In the meantime, the town is changing its face, in fact the lights dress it up and every day the music of the Alimena band enlivens the streets and squares of the old centre. Day 1 September after the liturgy in the Mother Church, the eighteenth-century statue of Santa Maria Maddalena, dressed in a pink dress adorned with flowers and a green cloak, is exposed to the devotees in front of the main door. The faithful ask for the protection of the Patroness while the bells ring in celebration and the procession starts with the religious and civil authorities. The procession it runs along the main roads of the town and the confraternities of the SS. Sacramento, dell'Ecce Homo, the Crucifix, the Rosary and St. Joseph parade with the typical clothes and ornaments of the individual Christian associations. After the procession the party continues with music and fireworks while the stalls with typical products they attract tourists and locals.

The history of the feast of Santa Maria Maddalena in Alimena

The feast of Santa Maria Maddalena in Alimena has ancient origins. Until the end of the last century, the inhabitants of the town woke up at the first light of dawn on August 30 with a shot of firecrackers which was followed by a great crash for the sound of the church bells and the noise of the cowbells of the animals that were gathered for the fair. The animal market, organized in a space called "closed by Magdalene", was a great event that began at noon on August 30 and continued the following day. In the nineteenth century the stalls with local products to offer during the festival were placed under a loggia built by the Municipality and some singers performed opera arias lyrics called "a musicata".
The statue was carried in procession through the streets of the town on a sumptuous vara in the shape of a chapel and the devotees stopped at specific points to allow the faithful to pin jewels and money on the stole placed on the shoulders of the Patroness. Until before the Second World War, the festival was also an opportunity to show a film in the main square of Alimena. In fact, the town lacked cinema and theater and the inhabitants of Alimenas brought chairs from home to experience the emotion of the cinema.

When the feast of Santa Maria Maddalena takes place in Alimena

Alimena celebrates the patron saint on 1st September each year.

Where the feast of the patron saint of Alimena takes place

Piazza Regina Margherita it is the fulcrum of the event here in fact there is the Church dedicated to the Patron Saint and concerts are organized in the evening.

What to see in Alimena and its surroundings during the feast of Santa Maria della Maddalena

On the occasion of the feast of Santa Maria della Maddalena, tourists can discover Alimena and its surroundings. There Mother Church of the town, built in 1731 at the behest of Prince Vincenzo del Bosco, is elegant and bright. Inside it houses the statue of the Magdalene and you can also admire an inlaid wooden pulpit, the statue of the Immaculate Conception by Francesco Sorgi, an 700th century organ and some paintings from the same period. Just above the inhabited center stands the Church of Sant'Alfonso dei Liguori which was built in the nineteenth century on the foundations of a seventeenth-century watchtower. Near the town instead, in the district Strait Cave scholars and tourists are fascinated by an ancient and deep fault from which sulphurous water comes out, a very interesting natural phenomenon.

How to reach Alimena

By car:, from Palermo take the E90 and continue for 6km until the Resuttano exit. Continue along the road for 89km and take the SP19 in the direction of Piazza Regina Margherita in Alimena, after 9km you will reach the Mother Church.