Look at this picture of men whose faces are covered by wired cowls, in the darkness lighted up by torches: guess where we took it.
In Sicily? In Andalucia? Actually, this style of Easter Week processions are typical of Southern Italy and Spain, but in this case, we didn’t have to go that far: we just drove from Arezzo towards Cortona and some kilometres before the city we stopped in the beautiful medieval hill hamlet of Castiglion Fiorentino, where from centuries Holy Week solemn Processions have been commemorating the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.
Three are the nights when the members of the hamlet’s three Brotherhoods, all founded between the 16th and the 17th century, parade in the central streets dressed in ancient costumes to commemorating the most relevant episodes of the days preceding Easter. The first procession is held on the Holy Tuesday when the wooden statue of “Jesus in the Garden of Olives” is paraded by the Brotherhood of San Antonio, dressed in white; the second is represented on the Holy Wednesday, when the wooden statue of “Flagellation of Christ at the Column ” is paraded by the Brotherhood of Death, dressed in black: the pictures displayed in this post refer to this procession; the third, the most solemn and dramatic, takes place on Good Friday, and all the wooden statues of the previous processions are paraded together with those of the Virgin Mary and the Dead Christ, accompanied by the Brotherhood of Jesus, dressed in blue.
The events of the Holy Week in Castiglion Fiorentino culminate in the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday, after sundown, when the Volata, the traditional run with the statue of the Resurrected Christ in the Collegiate Church, takes place. If you are in the surroundings, don’t miss the evocative processions during the Holy Week and the Easter Vigil Mass, amazing opportunities to deeply breath the solemn atmosphere of the Holy Wee and appreciate the enchanting backdrop of this Tuscan lovely medieval hamlet.
Another popular procession on Good Friday is the Giudeata in Chianciano, in the province of Siena, a traditional parade held since the 17th century will take place through the streets of the centre, with participants dressed in historical costumes of the time of Jesus Christ.
Also in Pienza, the precious jewel of the Renaissance in the Val d’Orcia, the Passion of Jesus Christ is commemorated on Good Friday, with the statue of the dead Christ paraded along the main streets and squares of the beautiful centre by barefoot walkers-on.
Three enchanting hamlets, three evocative events to fully immersing in the sacred Holy Week in Tuscany and celebrating the joy of the Resurrection.
