In Taranto, Holy Week is characterized by the unfolding of rites that have been handed down unaltered for about three centuries and which still deeply involve all citizens. The tradition of Easter rites originates from the Spanish domination of southern Italy: they were introduced to Taranto by the patrician from Taranto, Don Diego Calò, who commissioned the creation of the statues of Jesus Dead and Our Lady of Sorrows in Naples in the early eighteenth century.
The first of the Easter rites begins on Palm Sunday with an auction during which the brothers of the two main brotherhoods, that of Maria Santissima Addolorata and San Domenico and that of Maria Santissima del Carmine, "compete" to win the honor to carry the heavy statues during the processions of the Addolorata and the Sacred Mysteries. The presence of the brotherhoods in Taranto has a very ancient history: as early as the fifteenth century, in fact, their presence is attested, which then became more massive following the abolition of monastic orders in the Kingdom of Naples which favored the birth of these " congregations ”born to safeguard popular religious traditions.
The first of the Easter rites begins on Palm Sunday with an auction during which the brothers of the two main brotherhoods, that of Maria Santissima Addolorata and San Domenico and that of Maria Santissima del Carmine, "compete" to win the honor to carry the heavy statues during the processions of the Addolorata and the Sacred Mysteries. The presence of the brotherhoods in Taranto has a very ancient history: as early as the fifteenth century, in fact, their presence is attested, which then became more massive following the abolition of monastic orders in the Kingdom of Naples which favored the birth of these "congregations" born to safeguard popular religious traditions.
They move in pairs, "the posts", barefoot, with a slow, swinging gait called "nazzecata". They are dressed in the traditional dress that consists of a white coat, a black rosary at the waist, a leather belt, a cream-colored mozzetta buttoned on the front, a white hood with two small holes at eye level and a black hat. The Pardons also carry a club about two meters high which symbolizes the ancient pilgrims' stick. The ritual lasts until midnight.
After the procession of the Perdunes, to the sound of a sad funeral march, the procession of the Addolorata starts. The procession is preceded by the shoulder bag that with the shoulder strap or troccola, a wooden plank with metal pendants, produces a characteristic sound that marks the rhythm and pace of the procession which lasts for almost 14 hours. The procession of the Mysteries leaves the afternoon of Good Friday and returns to the church of the Carmine on the morning of Holy Saturday.
In the following hours, the manifestations are suspended: it is, in fact, the moment of pain and meditation for the death of Christ. At midnight, the church bells announce that Christ has risen. It is the Easter proclamation that sweeps away the penitential atmosphere, putting an end to the rites of Holy Week, and invites everyone to joy at the resurrection of Christ.
here you can watch The Rite of Holy Week in Taranto
