Puglia, also known as Apulia, stands in South Italy. It is the heel of Italy's boot, between the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. The land, rich in charm and culture is a wonderful holiday resort. Everyone arriving in Puglia finds something familiar so that he feels at home. In Puglia, you can taste delightful traditional dishes and admire picturesque cliffs falling sheer to the crystalline sea, suggestive sea grottoes, enchanting sandy bays covered by shady pinewoods, a beautiful rural lanscape surrounded by Trulli, olive groves, vineyards and whitewashed houses among alleys offering breathtaking views on the sea. If you are looking for an holiday home in Puglia, but you don`t know Puglia region and you don`t speak Italian language or simply because you don`t have time to make the search, HelloPuglia will be more than happy to help you and to take some of the stress away! We make every effort to ensure your stay is a pleasant one. Our aim is to offer to you the best information service about Puglia.
IN SOUTH ITALY
EASTER 2012 IN PUGLIA
EASTER IN PUGLIA - ITALY
7/8/9 APRIL 2012:
Easter is perhaps the most celebrated holiday in Italy, with Holy Week rites starting on Palm Sunday (1 April 2012) and ending on Easter Sunday (8 April 2012). The South of Italy, especially Puglia, is particularly well-known for its solemn displays of religious devotion, which often include processions on Good Friday, Holy Saturday , and Easter Sunday. The Pasquaredde Festival, instead, is celebrated every year on Easter Monday (9 April 2012) in Cisternino (Brindisi Province - Puglia), with a special pilgrimage to the Madonna d'Ibernia (Madonna de Bernis). The tradition is to prepare "u churruchele" a characteristic sweet that is a good omen, in the shape of a small bag with two hard-boiled eggs for the men and in the shape of a doll with a hard-boiled egg in its lap for the women. The apotropaic meaning is evident: the Virgin of Ibernia is known as the Madonna of Happiness, abundance and newborn life.
HOLY FRIDAY 2012 IN PUGLIA
MYSTERIES PROCESSION
All of the cities of Puglia enact this characteristic and slow procession, which can include from one to 37 groups of statues or machines. Each city varies the style of decorating the images, the time of the event (morning, afternoon or in the dead of night), the number of bands that play the so-called funeral marches, the devotees who proceed or follow the procession, the number of confraternities involved. The processions held at night or those with hooded cross-bearers or veiled women are very evocative. In some towns, the Mysteries Procession and the Piety continue on into Saturday.
GOOD IDEA TO VISIT PUGLIA OVER EASTER 2012 WEEKEND
Rites of Holy Week. The "Fracchie" and the procession of our Lady of Sorrow.
In San Marco in Lamis (Foggia Province)
This Event is unique in Italy. Enormous three trunks, cut into the shape of a cone and filled with wood and highly inflammable materials, are carried on special floats. The youths of various neighbourhoods prepare these spectacular "fire machines" which weigh up to 3000 kilograms, a few days before the event. The long procession of fire, with high flames that reflect off the facades of the buildings, accompanies the Virgin of the Seven Sorrows.
Passio Christi in Ginosa (Taranto)
One of the beautiful holy representations of the passion and death of Jesus held in Puglia. The theatrical action takes place entirely inside a ravine, which, together with the poetry of the dialogue, renders the show particularly evocative.
Procession of the Resurrected Christ and the explosion of the "Quartane".
In Ruvo di Puglia (Bari Province)
On Easter Sunday, children accompany the statue of the Resurrected Christ through the streets of the city. On the same morning, the "quarantane" cloth puppets hung at the corners of the streets as a reminder of fasting for Lent, are exploded and burned. The last "quarantana" to be exploded is the one in Piazza Bovio, at midday.
EASTER 2012 IN PUGLIA
Festival of Maria Santissima del Belvedere in Carovigno (Brindisi)
The traditional procession in honour of the Patron Saint is accompanied by flag - wavers with the traditional "nzegna", the flag with the "Marian Insigna". Square, with coloured triangles, the "nzegna" has a mystical rose at its centre, the Marian symbol, of Byzantine origin.