Easter, Sicillian Style

This easter, we flew down to Sicily to spend five days with Carlo's family.

The weather proved to be lovely, and experiencing an easter procession in this very catholic and southern medditerranean way was very special.

There were 12 or 15 very large wooden floats which were carried by at least a dozen men from a church on a preset course through the city. It would take more than three hours and most traffic came to a standstill. With drums as the only music accompanying the procession along with the off and on cheer and outburst of "Gesu!" or "Viva Maria!!!" it was a quiet affair. Strangely emotional for me and I have to admit, the lifesized statues depicting the last supper, crucifixion and rising of Jesus made this extraordinary event in history come to life. We followed on foot for a while and then ascended to the terrazza of Carlo's friend Mimo, whose apartment is located very central at the town's square. Great views from above!

Maria and then Jesus in the coffin. Not sure why he was represented laying in a coffin, but I guess it was to symbolize his death.

The drummer boys...

The last supper

All the flower arrangements were made of real flowers and were color coordinated with the dress of the figurines! So beautiful!!!

Actually, the floats were carried by TWO dozen men! They had to make frequent stops as the floats must have weighed a ton!

Notice the cushions on their shoulders? I first thought they looked a bit like the hunchback of Notre Damme until I discovered that they all had the padding to cushion against the wooden beam rubbing on their shoulders...

Some floats were a bit smaller and easier to carry, it was a spectacle seeing them meander down main street...