Feast of Assunta in Randazzo

The Feast of the Assumption in Randazzo takes place every year on August 15th and is characterized by the traditional and spectacular procession of the Vara dell'Assunta.
The rich religious program of the Feast of Maria SS. Assunta, co-patron saint of Randazzo together with San Giuseppe, culminates on August 15 with the procession of a spectacular triumphal chariot which is pulled by hand by hundreds of faithful by means of two hawsers, along the streets of the city.
It is a ancient mighty ascending chariot, "a vara", which symbolizes the three mysteries of the Mother of God: the Dormition, the Assumption and the Coronation. The vara, which maintains the original characteristic of the cart with the wooden trunk, the mechanisms and the towing by hand, consists of three floors, rotating around a central axis, which depict: two clouds populated by angels; a wheel in motion with the Archangel Michael on one side and Christ and the Madonna on the other side; the Trinity and the Coronation at the top.
The peculiar feature of this structure are the hanging children. The latter are an integral part of the ancient tradition of the "Vara" and of the symbolic representation of the three Mysteries of the Madonna. The protagonists are twenty-five children who sing an ancient hymn wearing different clothes according to what they impersonate, suspended in the air but firmly tied in various points of the structure, up to the top of the Vara.
The origin of this ancient tradition is believes it may be linked to the passage from Randazzo of Charles V in 1535. It is said that on that occasion the local elite, joining the procession that accompanied the emperor to Messina, was fascinated by the triumphal chariots that the people of Messina flaunted to welcome the emperor and that he wanted to recreate them in his own country. According to another hypothesis, the painting by Caniglia kept in the chapel of the Crucifix, in the basilica of Santa Maria, inspired the creation of this structure.

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