Muzzuni Festival in Alcara li Fusi

The best way to get to know the most authentic soul of a place is to experience its most typical festivals, including the Muzzuni festival: takes place at Alcara Li Fusi and it is a very ancient event that combines sacred and pagan, cheering the participants with dances, songs and religious processions.

Description of the Muzzuni Festival in Alcara li Fusi

The Festa del Muzzuni is a ritual which, despite being cloaked in Christian elements, has kept its pagan origins intact. With the term muzzuni we mean both a sort of squat neckless jug and the head of the decapitated John the Baptist.
At dusk on June 24, after the procession of the statue of the head of the Baptist on a golden tray, the women of the various districts of the village prepare the altars to host the muzzuni. They use the pizza, Namely carpets made with old pedal looms and plates filled with objects related to peasant life, ears of corn and laureddi, stalks of wheat sprouting in the dark.
The women of Alcara Li Fusi themselves will prepare the muzzuni, jugs lined with silk fabrics and jewels of the inhabitants of the neighborhood: ears of corn, barley, carnations, lavender and ears of corn are then inserted into these vases.
Young girls, like ancient priestesses, carry the muzzuni on the altars, effectively starting the party. This is how the roar and chianote songs begin which, with irony, tell of loves and courtships: do not forget the Companatico rite which, with an exchange of sugared almonds, seals old friendships or forms new ones.
The conclusion of the Muzzuni Festival is the bonfire de "lu zuccu di Sanciuvanni", around which people dance and sing until late.

Muzzuni Festival: historical notes

The Muzzuni Festival of Alcara Li Fusi was born as pagan rite designed to propitiate the fertility of the earth, then translating into a real hymn to love and nature.
Its origins are Hellenic as legend has it that after the fall of Troy in 1183 BC, other people fled by sea together with Aeneas, including Patrone. He chose to land in Sicily, founding a castle in a fertile area rich in water: the first settlement of Alcara Li Fusi was born around the castle. Patron has maintained the Hellenic uses and customs, including the adoration of divinities such as Dionysius, Adonis, Aphrodite, Kore and Demeter. This is where the Muzzuni Festival originated.

When the Muzzuni Festival takes place in Alcara li Fusi

The Muzzuni Festival takes place between 24 and the 26 June, thus starting with the day on which the Holy martyr John the Baptist. Initially the date of the event was June 21, the day of the summer solstice but, with the advent of Christianity, it was postponed.

Where the Muzzuni Festival takes place

The Muzzuni Festival takes place at Alcara Li Fusi, a beautiful village in the province of Messina, located in the heart of the wonderful Nebrodi Park, just 29 km from Capo d'Orlando. It is located at an altitude of 398 m, between Monte Soro and Monte Krasto. The municipal territory, divided into two parts by the Rosmarino river, also includes theGriffin area, where it is possible to admire the flight of these birds of prey with a wingspan of nearly 13 m.

What to do during the Muzzuni Festival in Alcara li Fusi

Those who will go to Alcara Li Fusi on the occasion of the Muzzuni Festival can visit the historical and artistic heritage of the village, starting fromancient Motta district, very similar to an Arab casbah: here are the remains of Castel Turio founded by Patrone, the Abbot Fountain and Public wash house, a stone's throw from which the suggestive winds its way Street of the Mills.
They deserve a view Cathedral of Maria Santissima Assunta, which houses the remains of San Nicolò Politi and the Church of San Pantaleone Martyr, with one of the oldest organs in Sicily inside.

How to get to Alcara Li Fusi

By car:, to reach Alcara Li Fusi you have to take the A20, the highway that connects Palermo to Messina: take the exit for Sant'Agata Militello and then continue along the SP1 to your destination.