Amalfi Coast Accommodation Suggestions

Artistic and cultural events

Good Friday Processions

Where

Sorrento Peninsula and Amalfi Coast

When

Friday before Easter.

What

The religious rituals that precede Easter represent , in the whole Southern part of Italy, a mystic, historic and anthropological cleft of rare implication and strong emotional impact. Present in local folk traditions since the end of the Middle Age, the Good Friday processions are sacred performances celebrating the passion and death of Jesus Christ and are held in the whole Sorrentine Peninsula and Amalfi Coast. They follow an evocative itinerary that runs through villages, lanes and darkened city streets illuminated exclusively by torches. The majestic procession of drum beats, the hooded faithful and members of the antique sacred congregations still active in the area are broken by living scenes that depict events along the road to Calvary and culminate in the representation of the crucifixion of the Christ witnessed by his weeping and grieving mother, Mary, the Sorrowful Virgin. In an imposing mass spectacle and in a silence broken only by the mournful Canto del Miserere sung by the choirs following the Christ, one takes part in one of the most evocative sacred rituals in the world. Mystic atmosphere, faith and folk culture, scenic art and one of the few remaining examples of the oldest matrix of theatrical art in a cultural sequence leaves few participants unmoved.

Why you shouldn't miss it

The Good Friday Processions of the Sorrentine Peninsula are truly imposing and magnificent. Nevertheless, a more intimate, less crowded, and just as suggestive procession is held in nearby Amalfi. Almost every town, every parish celebrates its own procession and everywhere one feels part of a communion and tradition rarely experienced elsewhere.

Why you should experience it

It is perhaps one of the most authentic ways to assimilate the true spirit of the territory, which - in spite of worldly appearances - has remained simple and strongly attached to its faith-based traditions. It is an opportunity to visit the Amalfi Coast during one of its best naturalistic periods, before the summer sun dries most of the vegetation. As far as wine and gastronomy are concerned, the most famous desserts of the Campania region are those of Easter. Artichokes and other vegetables fill our gardens in the Spring. Traditionally, the population abstain from eating red meat during the week before Easter. But, Easter Sunday brings about a triumph of salumi, vegetables, cheeses, grilled white meats and mouth-watering sweets.

To be avoided if

you suffer from agoraphobia and you wouldn't go around with the likes of Hemingway looking for mobile, noble folk festivals. The participation by the local populace and tourists at these events is, in fact, impressive. Traffic and circulation on the roads, obviously, suffer.