Fest of Sant'Antonio Abate in Nicolosi
The great external feast of the Holy Co-Patron of Nicolosi, Sant'Antonio Abate, takes place on the first Sunday of July and in the days immediately preceding and following.
The first Friday of July takes place the procession, between prayers and songs, of the sixteenth-century wooden simulacrum of the Madonna delle Grazie and the relic of Sant'Antonio Abate which, from the church S.M. delle Grazie along the Via Etnea, are taken to the Mother Church, where they will remain exposed for the veneration of the faithful.
On Saturday, the eve of the feast, after the Holy Mass celebrated in the Mother Church, a procession takes place with the relics of Sant ' Antonio Abate, of Sant'Antonio di Padova, patron saint of Nicolosi, and of the statue of the Madonna delle Grazie carried on the shoulders of the faithful. The procession is unique in its kind, as it contains all the history and devotion of the people of Nicholas to the Three Patron Saints of the country to which the people of Nicholas have always turned when they were threatened by the fire of the lava. The procession ends in the parish church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with the exciting and long-awaited "Unveiled" of the wooden statue of the saint, amid the shouts of joy and the cheers of the devotees. In the main square of the town, musical entertainment shows take place.
On the day of the festival, at 12 noon, the simulacrum of the Saint, placed on an artistic fercolo, makes the triumphal exit from the Church, welcomed by the devout population that crowds every year the square, between the festive sound of bells, the firing of fireworks and the throwing of multicolored cards. Pulled by the young Nicolosites through long cords, the fercolo proceeds through the streets of the town, arriving shortly after in Piazza San Francesco where the traditional appointment with the blessing of the animals takes place.
On Sunday evening and Monday morning the statue of the Saint is carried again in procession along the streets of the town. On Monday evening, the party reaches its climax. The Saint's exit from the Mother Church is greeted with the performance of the traditional and ancient "Cantata" in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot. With the arrival of the fercolo at Viale della Regione, we witness the highlight of the festival or the 'A'cchianata' a sciara , that is the ascent of the sciara, which recalls the tragic events of the eruption of 1886 when the lava arrived at the gates of the town threatening to bury it, the statue of the Saint is carried running along a steep climb through two long cords packed with devotees until it reaches the place where, through the Saint's intercession, the lava stopped and where later a votive altar was erected in honor of Sant'Antonio Abate precisely to commemorate these events.
Shortly afterwards another traditional moment of the festival takes place, that is the blessing of the vehicles lined up along the Viale della Regione. At the end, the return procession begins in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie where the artistic and venerated statue of the Saint will be placed in the bedroom, inside the votive chapel, built by the veterans of the war.
The first Friday of July takes place the procession, between prayers and songs, of the sixteenth-century wooden simulacrum of the Madonna delle Grazie and the relic of Sant'Antonio Abate which, from the church S.M. delle Grazie along the Via Etnea, are taken to the Mother Church, where they will remain exposed for the veneration of the faithful.
On Saturday, the eve of the feast, after the Holy Mass celebrated in the Mother Church, a procession takes place with the relics of Sant ' Antonio Abate, of Sant'Antonio di Padova, patron saint of Nicolosi, and of the statue of the Madonna delle Grazie carried on the shoulders of the faithful. The procession is unique in its kind, as it contains all the history and devotion of the people of Nicholas to the Three Patron Saints of the country to which the people of Nicholas have always turned when they were threatened by the fire of the lava. The procession ends in the parish church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with the exciting and long-awaited "Unveiled" of the wooden statue of the saint, amid the shouts of joy and the cheers of the devotees. In the main square of the town, musical entertainment shows take place.
On the day of the festival, at 12 noon, the simulacrum of the Saint, placed on an artistic fercolo, makes the triumphal exit from the Church, welcomed by the devout population that crowds every year the square, between the festive sound of bells, the firing of fireworks and the throwing of multicolored cards. Pulled by the young Nicolosites through long cords, the fercolo proceeds through the streets of the town, arriving shortly after in Piazza San Francesco where the traditional appointment with the blessing of the animals takes place.
On Sunday evening and Monday morning the statue of the Saint is carried again in procession along the streets of the town. On Monday evening, the party reaches its climax. The Saint's exit from the Mother Church is greeted with the performance of the traditional and ancient "Cantata" in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot. With the arrival of the fercolo at Viale della Regione, we witness the highlight of the festival or the 'A'cchianata' a sciara , that is the ascent of the sciara, which recalls the tragic events of the eruption of 1886 when the lava arrived at the gates of the town threatening to bury it, the statue of the Saint is carried running along a steep climb through two long cords packed with devotees until it reaches the place where, through the Saint's intercession, the lava stopped and where later a votive altar was erected in honor of Sant'Antonio Abate precisely to commemorate these events.
Shortly afterwards another traditional moment of the festival takes place, that is the blessing of the vehicles lined up along the Viale della Regione. At the end, the return procession begins in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie where the artistic and venerated statue of the Saint will be placed in the bedroom, inside the votive chapel, built by the veterans of the war.
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References
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