The rite of Easter in Trapani

It is defined as "City of the two seas", rising on a sort of peninsula nestled between the Ionian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea: it is Trapani, the Sicilian city famous for its salt pans and its splendid coast, dotted with enchanting beaches. Trapani is also the place where a of the oldest Easter rites in all of Italy: it is the Procession of the Mysteries, which has been on stage for more than 400 years, lasting for a whole 24 hours, very long and very intense.

Easter in Trapani: how it takes place

One of the highlights of the Procession of the Mysteries it is the rite of I Scinnuti, that is when the statues are placed in the center of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, taking them from the chapels, with the band playing outside the church. In the past this event happened every Friday of Lent, while today also on Tuesday and Wednesday.

La Procession of the Mysteries starts from Church of the Souls of Purgatory the early afternoon of Good Friday, at approximately 14 pm and winds through the streets of the city throughout the night and in the morning of Holy Saturday following, with a short break in the middle of the night. The statues that cross the streets of Trapani, between music and lights, show a disarming expressiveness, not only thanks to the carchèt technique but also thanks to the vara to which the sculptural group is hooked. The statues in fact sway, as if they were really real people.
It is the massari who carry the statues in procession, with a cadenced step that gives life to the innacata, on the poignant notes of the musical band that follows the procession.

Easter in Trapani: historical origins of the Procession of the Mysteries

The origins of Procession of the Mysteries of Trapani they are Spanish, so much so that its development is very reminiscent of the Easter rites of Andalusia.
Casazze Magne: this was the name by which the re-enactments of the Via Crucis were called in the 500th century, promoted by the so-called beaters of the Confraternity of the Company of San Michele Arcangelowho whipped themselves to death in public.
The organization of the Procession of the Mysteries was then entrusted to the Guilds of Artisans of Trapani, very important in the past and the first to create the sculptural groups, with the carchèt technique, which still parade through the streets of the city of Trapani.

When does the Procession of the Mysteries take place?

The period of celebration of Easter in Trapani starts on 2 April and ends on the 9th of the same month: the Procession of the Mysteries it begins at 14 on Good Friday and ends at approximately the same time on Holy Saturday.

Where Easter takes place in Trapani

La Procession of the Mysteries in question takes place in the city of Trapani, between narrow arabesque alleys and elegant historic buildings. Starts from Church of the Souls of Purgatory, which is also the arrival point of the same procession.

What to do during Easter in Trapani

La Procession of the Mysteries is the perfect opportunity to visit the city, starting from Cathedral of San Lorenzo of the '300 in Baroque, with inside the Dead Christ of Tartaglia. They are also worth a visit Church of the Purgatory, whose bell tower was in the past an Arab watchtower, the very ancient Church of St. Nicholas And that of Santa Maria del Gesu with the sculpture of the inside Madonna of the Angels by Della Robbia.
Equally enchanting are the Church of Sant'Agostino, Church of St. Peter of the year 1076 and the Sanctuary of Maria Santissima Annunziata, located just outside the historic center.

Among the places not to be missed in Trapani there are also the Castle of the Dovecote, built according to legend by the Trojans and with a defensive turret erected in 260 BC by Amilcare Barca.
Inside the Ligny Tower then there is the "Anthropological Civic Museum", where a helmet and Roman amphorae found in the sea are kept.

Finally, one cannot leave Trapani without visiting the "Trapani and Paceco Salt Pans Nature Reserve", an enchanting habitat for pink flamingos, with windmills to make the atmosphere very suggestive.

Recommended activities for a tour in Trapani and its surroundings

How to get to Trapani

To attend the Easter in Trapani you have to reach by car the city and take the E90 if you come from Palermo: at the height of Alcamo, you must then turn onto the SS113 in the direction of Trapani.