Feast of Jesus of Nazareth in San Giovanni Gemini

The Festival of Jesus of Nazareth in San Giovanni Gemini traditionally takes place every year on the second Sunday of June and is deeply felt and participated in by the entire population of the village.
The festival has very ancient origins: historical documents show which was celebrated for the first time in 1677. Only starting from the mid-nineteenth century was the festival enriched by the Triumphal Chariot, today the most characteristic element of the festival.
The Nazarene, which is carried in procession during the festival, is a dark colored wooden statue, dating back to 1659, surrounded by the statues of St. John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene kneeling on one side and the Virgin of Sorrows on the other.
The Triumphal Chariot, which with its 22 meters of height represents the largest triumphal chariot in Sicily, is towed, in honor of the Nazarene, for a distance of 400 meters, symbolically by a pair of oxen, but really by devotees via an 80-metre long rope.
The festival includes various moments of great devotion and folklore.
The Friday preceding the festival takes place the murdurrata di l'assi du timuni, the moment in which the two side beams of the cart are tied with ropes to the central ones which will act as rudders. In the evening, a first procession of the Holy Cross takes place from the church of Santa Lucia to the Mother Church.
On Saturday afternoon there is the vistuta di li vua, i.e. the < em>dressing the oxen that will pull the cart with embroidered velvets, silk threads and paper garlands.
The traditional scinnuta takes place on Saturday evening >, or descent of the cart, which will be carried through the main streets of the village in a large and spectacular procession.
On Sunday morning the evocative procession of candles takes place during which a solid gold crown will cross the entire town.
On Sunday evening the traditional acchianata of the wagon takes place, i.e. the ascent of the wagon, which will be led, once again, for the main streets of the village.
On Monday, the final day of the festivities, the Holy Cross will return to the Church of Santa Lucia.

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