Feast of San Nicola di Bari in Saponara

The Patron Saint of Saponara is San Nicola di Bari and, as traditionally happens in all towns, this figure is honored by the celebration of a feast in his honor where the whole community participates.

In Saponara, the Feast of San Nicola is particular as it lasts three days including also those dedicated to the Immaculate Madonna which is celebrated on 8 December.

The story linked to the Feast of San Nicola di Bari in Saponara

Everything is to refer to an ancient tradition that gave rise to a party that lasts three days.

On the first day, i.e. December 6, the procession takes place through the streets of Saponara, del silver bust of St. Nicholas, the patron saint. The day after, the popular is celebrated Feast of Quadrittu while on 8 December the Immaculate Conception is celebrated with a crowded procession, whose beautiful statue is carried in procession through the streets of Saponara.

La church consecrated to St. Nicholas it is also most important church of the town and rises above the central one Matrix square. Inside there is space for a seventeenth-century half-length by an unknown artist from Messina, which depicts the Patron Saint wearing the bishop's miter and holding the Gospel with one hand and blessing with the other.

To one side of the main altar, in the chapel of San Nicola, it is possible to admire a splendid canvas painted by Crestadoro depicting the SS. Trinity together with St. Nicholas.

Also inside the church it is possible to admire a fresco which shows St. Nicholas working a miracle where the bishop of Myra is resurrecting two donkeys.

What to do during the Feast of San Nicola di Bari in Saponara

Anticipated by a novena recited in the Mother Church, the Feast sees its celebration towards the evening of 6 December with the simulacrum and the Relic carried in procession through all the streets of the village.

In parallel, during the same period at the church of the Immaculate Conception, yes recite a novena in honor of the Madonna, a religious figure deeply felt by the citizens of Saponara.

Built in the early seventeenth century, the church of the Immaculate Conception was initially dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

The church preserves inside, a beautiful wooden statue depicting theImmaculate Conception which, on 8 December, is carried in procession throughout the town.

Also from this church starts the procession of the day before, i.e. on 7 December, known as the Quadrittu party.

This too is a festival that has its roots in a distant past, exactly in the seventeenth century when the lords of the feud of Saponara were the Moncadas.

At that time the charcoal burners of the town had to spend a lot of time in the Peloritani mountains and this prevented them from participating in the social and religious life of Saponara. Thus, out of rebellion against what in their eyes was a real injustice and contrary to what was established by the notables and clergy of the town, they decided to carry a canvas depicting the Madonna in procession.

It was the day after the feast of San Nicola di Bari in Saponara and the day preceding the procession of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December and that evening they all came down from the mountains reaching the church of the Immaculata from where they took their painting of the Virgin Mary and, without notifying the population, they carried him around the town lighting up the procession with lighted torches.

From that moment on, the tradition was born that still lasts today and which consists of celebrating what is said U'Quadrittu, carrying it in procession on the evening of December 7 at nine o'clock in the evening. The procession is led by the master builder who knocks on the church door with a hammer three times while waiting for the parish priest to open and deliver the picture of the Immaculate Conception.

To prevent the original canvas from running the risk of being damaged by the sparks caused by the lit torches, a copy of it is used. The procession only ends late at night when, once the tour is complete, the canvas will be brought back to the church to be placed in its original arrangement.

When does the Feast of San Nicola di Bari take place?

The Feast of San Nicola di Bari is celebrated every year from 6 to 8 December with a well-defined series of events where, in addition to the local population, the faithful and tourists from all over the world also participate.

Where the Feast of San Nicola di Bari takes place in Saponara

The Feast of San Nicola di Bari in Saponara originates right in the church dedicated to the Patron Saint from where the procession will then start and will affect all the streets of the small Messina village.

How to get to Saponara

By car: the city is connected with Messina, Catania and Palermo - from which it is respectively 25 and 225 km away - both by the State Road 113 and by the A20 (exit at the Rometta tollbooth).