HOLY EASTER WEEK IN AMALFI AND SORRENTO

Amalfi and Sorrento, from 05th April 2007 to 08th April 2007

The fascinating procession of hooded figures is a characteristic of Holy Week on the Sorrentino Peninsula. The liturgical processions during Easter are a demonstration of the genuine religious beliefs of the inhabitants of the Amalfi Coast: there are over 20 between Sorrento and the surrounding area.

Holy Week processions are an event that the people of these towns look forward to with enthusiasm throughout the year. The protagonists of these celebrations are the lay confraternities and groups of devotees who have been reviving the evangelical message and traditions for centuries. On Holy Thursday and Good Friday - in an atmosphere filled with emotion and mysticism - the so-called "Battenti", men with covered faces wearing a black, red or white frock (depending on the tradition of the confraternity), slowly pass by in silence in the streets lit up by torches, carrying the symbols of the Passion and death of Christ, such as the column covered with blood, the crown of thorns, the dice and robes.

The origins of these processions go far back in the past and they probably date back to the 16th century. At first, the parades were very simple, but in the 18th century, under Spanish rule and the influence of the Jesuits, the processions were embellished with torches, the symbols of the confraternities and the famous "Mysteries" or symbols of the bodily injuries Christ suffered during his ascent to Golgota.