§ Saint John the Baptist is the Patron Saint of Genoa and Ovada a piemontese town to which we are bound by ancient alliance and friendship
§ Both the cities honour the Saint with celebrations and religious , but mainly folkloristic, processions.
§ Yesterday night I took part of celebrations going to watch at the midnight bonfire in front of Palazzo Ducale
§ While this afternoon we went to Ovada to watch at the procession by the Confraternity of Holy Trinity and Saint John the Baptist
E' pesantissimo e viene portato a turno dagli uomini più forti della Confraternita.
§ The crucifix in the first pic is tipical of Liguria and Lower Piemonte, the Black Christ and the decorations in silver and gilded silver are absolutely characteristic.
It is very heavy and it is lifted in turn by the strongest men of the Confraternity.
§ To be a Cristezante aka Christ bearer in Genoese, is a main honour and a great responsibility given the economical and symbolic value of the crosses.
§ Look at the first 6 minutes of this video to understand the labour in the transfer from one bearer to the other, actually is the most dangerous moment of the procession
§ Not that these huge statues are less imposing !!! and they made them dance !!!
5 commenti:
Great tradition.:) Thank you for sharing it with us, Rosanna.:)
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thank you for sharing that, what wonderful thing to participate in :)
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marisa
Thanks for sharing this with us - very interesting!
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Birgit
Rosanna, what a magnificent procession. It made my heart swell and brought tears to my eyes as I watched those monumental sculptures being carried! I never knew there was such a beautiful festival in Italy to honour St-Jean Baptiste! He is also the patron saint of Quebec, one of our provinces and it is also a holiday for them but not for the rest of Canada. It's a provincial holiday. When I was a girl, there always used to be a procession on that day with a special chariot carrying a young boy representing the saint. Every year the search was on for a young boy with blond naturally curly hair. Eventually, the procession stopped. I can't remember why. Thanks for sharing this.
What a beautiful and fascinating procession, Rosanna! I watched the whole video... it did make it clear how heavy those crosses are and how hard to keep them upright!
Happy Midsummer to you!!!
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