Easter in Riesi

The rites of the Holy Week in Riesi are characterized by the Easter Saints. These are the five simulacra of Veronica, the Ecce Homo, the Addolorata, San Giovanni and the Crucified Jesus, kept in the church of lu chianu Signuri, which remain on display the week before Palm Sunday, and which are carried in procession during Holy Week. The opening of the Church in which the simulacra are kept is a moment very attended by the population, it takes place in the late afternoon of Saturday, and is announced by the firing of firecrackers.
On Palm Sunday it takes place the traditional blessing of olive branches and palm trees and the procession during which the statues of Saints Peter and Paul are carried on shoulders through the streets of the centre.
On Holy Thursday the statues of San Giovanni and Ecce Homo from the Church of SS. Crucifix are carried up to the steps of San Giuseppe, the place where the sacred representation of the condemnation takes place.
On Good Friday the celebrations begin at 5 in the morning when the statues of Our Lady of Sorrows and of San Giovanni are led through the streets of the city center in search of Jesus Christ. Only in the early afternoon does the meeting between Our Lady of Sorrows and Christ take place, followed by the procession towards Calvary where the Crucifixion takes place. Particularly suggestive and moving is the scinnence, or the deposition of the body of the Dead Christ. The day ends with the procession accompanying the simulacrum of the dead Christ up to the Church of the SS. Crocifisso.
On Easter Sunday the traditional encounter between the Madonna and the Risen Christ takes place.

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