Easter in Pietraperzia

When one thinks of Sicily, famous places such as Palermo, Agrigento and the Cyclops Riviera come to mind. Yet in the hinterland there are no less interesting villages, including Pietraperzia, in the province of Enna: here history and legend mix making the atmosphere very fascinating, between the legend of the Castle of Pietraperzia and the rite of Lu Signuri of li Fasci, which every year animates the Holy Week in a small corner of Sicily.

How the ritual of Lu Signuri di li Fasci takes place during Easter in Pietraperzia

The rite of Lu Signuri of li Fasci is the most important of the events that characterize the Holy Week in Pietraperzia: it is a procession that winds through the streets of the village and which leaves, in the evening, from the Mother Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, born in the 500th century on the remains of an ancient place of worship from the Norman era (guardian inside a Byzantine crypt complete with a Greek-style gold crucifix).
The event revolves around a sort of simulacrum consisting of a long pole in cypress about 8,50 meters high, on which a sphere made of colored glass and wood, illuminated by four lamps: this artifact represents the whole planet, with its complexity and diversity. Above this luminous sphere is hoisted the crucifix: when you admire this simulacrum, it seems that the Christ at the top is floating in the air and above the crowd, due to the presence of a sort of mountain or white curtain made up of many strips of linen. It consists of about 200 strips of linen (whose cultivation is very ancient in Pietraperzia) belonging to the faithful who, in many cases, hand them down in the family from generation to generation: in fact many bear the initials of the owner, or of the person who asked for a grace from Christ or thanked him for the help received.

Before the procession begins, in the evening, in the Mother Church of Pietraperzia the very heartfelt Adoration of the Cross takes place: all the faithful place in turn, on the Crucifix, a red ribbon which symbolizes Christ's infinite love for their children. After these ribbons, called measured by, are blessed, each believer takes one and ties it to his wrist as a sign of fervent devotion.
Afterwards, the 80 bearers raise the Lu Signuri of li Fasci in front of the crowd and the procession begins through the streets of the village, accompanied by a litany sung in the local dialect, called The date, dedicated to the Passion and death of Jesus Christ.
The procession is opened by the Confraternity of Maria Santissima del Soccorso, followed by a musical band and the simulacrum; it is then the turn of the second band that accompanies the urn of the dead Christ and finally, introduced by a third musical band, passes the simulacrum dedicated to the Virgin of Sorrows.
Three blows of the hammer indicate the stops of the procession along the way, which finally ends, in the late evening, in Piazza del Carmine, where the evocative Descent of the Holy Cross.

When the ritual of Lu Signuri di li Fasci takes place in Pietraperzia

The event so loved by the citizens of Pietraperzia, which also attracts onlookers from nearby towns, takes place during Holy Week, usually on Good Friday and certainly represents the highlight of the re-enactment of the Passion of Christ.

Pietraperzia, the place where the ritual of Lu Signuri di li Fasci takes place

Pietraperzia is a small village located in the heart of the Salso river valley and stands on a rocky promontory 476 meters high: its name derives from petri pirciari, which means perforated rocks, in reference to the caves present at the base of the village, many of which are real cave sepulchres from the pre-Hellenic era.

Stopping in Pietraperzia, during a trip to Sicily, can prove to be really very pleasant, given some of the attractions that characterize the village: here stands the Barresio Castle which, although today it is only a little more than a ruin, was one of the most beautiful residences on the whole island in the 500s.
The village of Pietraperzia is really pretty, with cobbled streets, stone stairways and open spaces including Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, overlooked by the seventeenth-century Church of San Rocco and that of Santa Maria del Gesu seat of the Ecclesiastical Museum. Then there is Piazza Matteotti, where it is possible to admire the beautiful Tortorici Palace and the old man Convent of San Domenico dating from 1520 and today seat of the Town Hall.

How to get to Pietraperzia

Pietraperzia is located 29,8 km from Enna and can be reached by car driving along the A19 that connects Catania to Palermo or the Provincial Road 78 or the State Road 560 (passing through the SS117bis).