Feast of the Most Holy Crucifix at Palazzo Adriano

The Feast of the Most Holy Crucifix at Palazzo Adriano is a religious event celebrated in the Maria SS church. Assumption of the Greek-Byzantine rite, among the most heartfelt at Palazzo Adriano.
The celebrations begin on the first day of August, the day in which the arrival of the arbëreshë at Palazzo Adriano is remembered: at dawn the Albanian chant O e bukurà Morè is sung at the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Grazia, while in the evening the traditional cuccia, boiled wheat seasoned in various ways, is blessed and distributed, the food with which the arbëre shë recall their arrival at Palazzo Adriano in 1482.
It is also tradition that every morning, from 1 to 14 August, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the morning while in the evening the singing of the Paraklisi is sung, a supplication of the Byzantine tradition addressed to the Mother of God.
On 14 August the Solemn Vespers takes place, the Officiation of the Paraklisi, the singing of the Enkomia (funeral laments with which the Byzantine Church mourns the deposition of Christ from the cross) with the scattering of laurel leaves and perfumes, and the Solemn Procession with the Epitafios of the Mother of God.
On August 15th, the traditional procession of the Simulacrum of the Madonna takes place from the Sanctuary to the parish of Maria SS. Assunta.
On 16th August the festivities begin. There are various religious moments throughout the day which culminate, in the evening, with the solemn and heartfelt procession of the precious Vara del SS. Crucifix, simulacrum in precious wood decorated and covered in gold foil sculpted by the artist Marabitti in 1639 and brought to Palazzo Adriano by Albanian refugees before 1482, of the Madonna della Grazia and the Patron S. Nicola di Mira. All the Byzantine rite brotherhoods of Palazzo take part in the procession.
During the celebrations numerous events are organised: concerts, musical, folkloristic and entertainment shows.