Feast of the Patron Saint Nicholas of Bari in Trecastagni

On the first Sunday of December, the village of Trecastagni, in the province of Catania, is festive because it celebrates the anniversary of St. Nicholas of Bari , the patron saint of the town. The festival has very ancient origins and every year it attracts thousands of faithful, both from neighboring towns and from abroad, given that many natives who emigrated outside Italy return to honor the saint. The appointment is full of events that mix folklore and religion: here's all you need to know to participate.

What is the feast of San Nicola in Trecastagni

The devotion that all the inhabitants of Trecastagni have towards San Nicola di Bari constitutes the fundamental element around which the whole celebration is organised, given that the statue of the Saint is carried procession throughout the country and accompanied by the faithful who sing sacred hymns.

One is then celebrated solemn mass and in the afternoon of the same day a second procession is organized which this time will also carry the relics of the saint and his simulacrum around the streets of the town, concluding with the reverse route which will bring everything back inside the Church of San Nicola until the following year. During the processions the faithful accompany the statue carried on the shoulder on the fercolo of the Madonna del Carmelo singing and sprinkling the road of flowers and strips of colored paper.

The story linked to the Feast of the Patron Saint Nicholas of Bari in Trecastagni

The feast of San Nicola in Trecastagni has a very long tradition as the first evidence of the celebrations dedicated to the Saint dates back to the fifteenth century. Just around the fifteenth century, in fact, the ecclesiastical authorities decided to demolish the mother church dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy, which had become old and not very spacious, to build a much larger one to be dedicated to San Nicola, as confirmed by a papal bull written by Eugene IV and dated March 1446.

In the Julian letters of 1616, on the other hand, we have news of the expenses incurred to organize the celebrations in honor of the saint. From that moment the church became part of the Trecastagni calendar, gathering more and more faithful. Celebrate the case of the nudes , the sailors who escaped the storms, who got off their boats on the occasion of the feast of San Nicola in Trecastagni and came to pay homage to the Saint as they were dressed, hence the nickname "naked".

When the feast of San Nicola takes place in Trecastagni

The feast of San Nicola in Trecastagni takes place every year in the first Sunday of the month of December. The saint's feast day is actually December 6, the date of his death in 343 AD, but conventionally it has always been chosen to celebrate the procession on the first possible Sunday.
If the main celebrations fall on this date, it must however be said that the entire week preceding it has in the calendar the liturgical appointments very important that are in preparation for the holy procession and that see the involvement of all three parishes of the country.

Where the party takes place in Trecastagni

The procession that carries the statue of San Nicola di Bari in triumph in Trecastagni follows every year a different itinerary , precisely because we want to give all the villagers the opportunity to honor the Saint and feel involved in the celebrations.
One stage, however, is always present regardless of the tour that takes place: it is that of the Largo del Banco del Santo Patron, where the procession stops to listen to the sound of party trumpets . Other fundamental stages of the procession are those of the Church of St. Nicholas, from which the statue of the saint and the relics emerge, and that of the Mother Church, which houses the sacred simulacra from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening, when everything returns to its place until the procession of the following year.

What to do during the event

The feast of San Nicola in Trecastagni is above all a religious event, therefore most of the main events are closely linked to faith. The rites begin on Saturday, when the statue of the Saint is brought out in procession from the Church of San Nicola di Bari and the so-called revealed , i.e. the statue is deprived of the covering drape and shown to the faithful.

The next day, the procession begins with the faithful carrying the saint on their shoulders and the others singing hymns, waving their handkerchiefs and shouting "Saint Nicholas, cheers" and sprinkling the street with flowers and strips of colored paper. After stopping for the trumpet blast, the procession resumes its stages and concludes with the kissing of the relics, after carrying out the "'cchianata da Matrici" , that is, the climb that leads back to the church of San Nicola. In the evening the more secular celebrations begin, based on food and wine and handicraft stands.

How to get to Trecastagni

Trecastagni is just 15 km from Catania and can be easily reached in less than 20 minutes by car auto along the internal roads. In particular, there are two ways: the first which includes the route that includes Via del Bosco and Via Fisichelli, while the second which is a little longer as you have to go along Via Etnea. Those coming by car from Palermo, on the other hand, will have to take the A19 motorway to the Catania Centro exit and then follow the signs for Trecastagni.

Who prefers the bus numbers you will find the service offered by the ATS company very convenient, which connects Catania with Trecastagni several times a day.
Finally, the reference railway station is that of Acireale since the locality does not have its own: from there it is then possible to continue with the local bus service.