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The Sagra Delia Croce [Sicily]

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2021

Extract

The Sagra della Croce is a three-day parade and celebration that takes place once a year, in May, in Casteltermini, a town of about 10,000 people in Sicily. The parade is performed in honor of a wooden cross that, according to an old legend, was miraculously found several centuries ago by a cow in the fields near the town. The cross is kept in a small church (the Chiesa di Santa Croce) on the hills about two miles from Casteltermini. Preparation for the Sagra takes the whole year and comprises a large part of the town's social life.

The Sagra has been performed for several hundred years. Originally it was prepared and performed by three “ceti” (guilds): the pecorai (shepherds), the borgesi (farmers)—who also included the burdunara (muleteers)—and the schetti (bachelors).

Type
Annual Performance
Copyright
Copyright © 1977 The Drama Review

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