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Fireworks and festivals! Traditional religious and civil celebrations

Centro di Storia e Cultura Amalfitana – Amalfi

Traditional religious and civil celebrations

Fireworks and festivals! Every year, the Amalfi Coast comes alive with a host of colorful, historic parades, spectacular religious celebrations and fantastic gastronomic fairs

Amongst the many seasonal activities and things to do in Amalfi, there are a number of traditional events worth mentioning. They refer to the religious feelings of the population and to the glorious past (and present) of this small but charming town. These festivals tend to reliably draw large crowds and if you are lucky enough to be on holiday in Amalfi during one of these celebrations, then you are in for a treat.

The religious Feast Days are an important heritage and show the religious soul of the population, who keep celebrating the events, transmitting the importance of them from generation to generation.

They are part of a tradition that goes back centuries. Processions are countless. Every month there is one. Some of them involve the whole town, some only involve a quarter. The most relevant are:

the feast days of St. Andrew on 27th June and again on 30th November, which celebrate the patron saint of Amalfi;

the Procession of Good Friday;

the Procession of Corpus Christ, in mid June.

the Procession of St.Anthony on 13th June

The patron of the city is Sant'Andrea and the festival in his honour is impossible to forget for religious people. The history of the bones of the Saint, brought from Constantinople in 1208, is legendary and at the present day they are inside the splendid Duomo, an introspective and  magical place. It is a common belief that the "manna" (a sort of liquid) that leaks from the remains of the Saint is a miracle. This event occurred for the first time on 29th November 1304. It commonly occurs 6 times a year and it is amazing to watch. Many miracles are awarded to the Saint and, during November, people invoke him every day through the "coronella", which is an ancient multi-voice prayer. The silver statue of St Andrew is brought in a procession through the town, with peeling bells and a huge band, making the atmosphere rich in mysticism. To get a lively and detailed description of St. Andrew's Procession by an American writer, please use this link: www.ciaoamalfi.com. and you will be amazed and surprised. One particular is missing in the text: on the feast days, at 4,00am, the Cathedral steps are crowded with pious people reciting a set of prayers for each of the 57 steps they are climbing. It takes them about one hour to reach the top, in time for the morning celebrations. At 5.00am a musical band starts marching along the town streets, and during the November festivity mostly Christmas music is played.Needless to say that the day ends with a firework display that leaves the watchers open mouthed.

November 30th is St.Andrew's day, but there is a big feast on June 27th as well, in memory of what the Amalfitani call the “miracle”. A fleet of Saracens was approaching the shore on that date in 1544; this meant a ferocious raid with robbery, violence and rape. The population took shelter in the Cathedral and invoked St.Andrew for protection. A sudden sea storm prevented the landing and the fleet was almost destroyed. Ever since in grate memory, the Amalfitani celebrate their Patron Saint.

It is a pity that no one has described in the same lively way the Good Friday Procession.

Whilst St.Andrew's procession is joyful and quite noisy, the Good Friday's procession is very quiet: all lights are switched off and torches lit making the atmosphere gloomy and sad. Two endless lines of white hooded men precede the statues of the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows, which are followed by a chorus and a musical band, singing and playing lamentations composed by an Amalfi musician and composer, Antonio Tirabassi.Thousands of people keep an unreal but religious silence that could move stones!The statue of the Dead Christ is left in a small church, representing the Tomb and the Statue of the Virgin is taken back to the main church.An endless procession of people visit the “Tomb” until very late at night. At 7.00a.m. a group of “pious women” carry the statue back to the main church, passing through the typical narrow alleys of Amalfi .

Corpus Christ procession is perhaps the most important and colourful religious event: even the Mayor wears his three-coloured sash. All the Congregations of the Diocese parade with their banners and their members, who wear copes and badges for the occasion.Along the streets, from the balconies, adorned with lace and silk blankets, a shower of rose petals and flowers pay a homage to the Holy Sacrament passing by.The unfailing musical band plays, whilst the crowd sing all the time.

St.Anthony's procession starts from an old Church, founded by St. Francis of Assisi. On foot it reaches Atrani, a neighbouring village, where it boards a large boat. The musical band board another boat and a good number of boats start a noisy (horns are hooted all the time) procession, sailing from Atrani to Capo Conca and then back to Amalfi, where it lands onto the pier; here the clergy and a large crowd are waiting and they proceed to the Cathedral for the religious celebration. Late in the evening, the Statue is brought back to its church in a frenzy of fireworks.

The religious festivities have a great importance and see the participation of the entire population, especially the young. These latter inherit from the fathers their tasks in the organization and the processions.

If religious festivities have a great importance, the other events aren't inferior. Two events are strictly related to the glorious past of the first Maritime Republic of the Middle Ages: the Byzantine New Year's Day and the Regatta.

Byzantine New Year's dayMore than 1000 years ago, the splendid town of Amalfi on the Amalfitan Coast lived one of the most important periods of its republican history. It was the time when the city had a huge economy and political relevance, thanks to the Dukes, who were the most important persons of the city  at that time.

Every year from 839 until the 900s, on 1st September (this date coincided with the Byzantine first day of the year, that is why this event has been named Byzantine New Year's Day) the new Duke of Amalfi and Prominent Master of the Law was crowned. Thanks to the power linked to the title of Duke this person was the most important aristocratic person in the city.

The revival of the Byzantine New Year's Day enlivens the town with several events full of charm like the medieval games: among them the "Lotta" (fighting), the duel between two fighters with sticks on a floating platform; the "Palio" with water and ground games where the districts of Amalfi challenge each other; water races and the classic "Tiro con l'Arco" (archery) and "Tiro con la Fune" (tug of war).

The main moment of the event is the historical procession where all the characters in ancient costume march in a parade from Atrani to Amalfi, like in ancient times, in order to get to the Palatine Chapel in San Salvatore de Birecto in Atrani. This is the ancient church where the Dukes were crowned. Back in Amalfi, in the Town Hall, an outstanding personality of Italian culture is awarded the title of Duke of Amalfi and Master of the Law .

The Regatta of the four Maritime Republics

This is an event of an eminently historical and cultural nature, it began in December 1954 to recall that the fortunate vicissitudes of the Four Maritime Republics of Italy, from the 10 th to the 18th

century wrote centuries of history, not only of Italy but of all the countries on the Mediterranean Seaboard.

The first Regatta was held at Pisa. Since then, every year, taking it in turns, it is held on the sea of Amalfi and Genoa or on the river Arno at Pisa or the lagoon of Venice. Extraordinary editions have been held in Turin on the river Po, on the occasion of the centenary of the Unity of Italy; in Montecarlo for the 500th anniversary of the Principality of Monaco; and in London on the Thames in a boat race with four crews chosen from the leading universities. The event, which is held on the first Sunday in June, takes place in two important and complementary parts: it opens with a majestic Historical Procession and is then followed by the Regatta of the Galleys.

The Historical ProcessionThe procession is made up of four hundred people who wear precious medieval costumes, which are faithful reproductions of antique apparel.Each of the groups interprets a precise historical episode and recalls the main characters in the glorious history of their own city, in a splendid choreography of Standard bearers, trumpets, drums and arms.The procession of Amalfi re-enacts the wedding of the Duke Giovanni II with the “durrissima and Patricissa” Maria, a noble-woman of Norman origins. The procession was conceived by the scenographer Roberto Scielzo, who also designed the costumes and it represents the society of Amalfi at the peak of its period of greatest splendour.

The Regatta of the galleysThe boats must be built with same structural parameters. Their weight must not exceed 760 kilos, they are 11 metres long and have 8 fixed seats for the rowers led by a cox. In order to respect such parameters the boats, once built in wood, are now made in fiberglass. With their artistic figureheads they display traditional colours and symbols of the four cities (blue with a flying horse for Amalfi, white with a dragon for Genoa (because St. George is the city’s protector), red with an eagle for Pisa (it symbolizes the ancient bond between the Pisan Republic and the Holy Roman Empire) and green with a lion (because St. Mark is patron of the city) for Venice. The length of the race is 2 kms. In Amalfi the regatta takes place in the open sea from Cape of Vettica to the main port, where the finishing line is located. The winning team receive a magnificent trophy that will remain in the winning city until next Regatta. .

Another important festival is New Year's Day BandsOn December 31st the young people of the different quarters of the town march into the town centre playing typical instruments and singing. The tune of the main leit motive has been the same for centuries, but the words change according to the past year's main events, The songs are in dialect and are full of wit. Tourists find the instruments interesting, because they are made with all sort of poor materials

-    "Putipù", also known as “caccavella” is a particular terracotta pot or an old round tin box, covered by a skin. In the centre of the skin there is linked the extremity of a reed. This match is done before the skin is fixed on the pot or on the box. The sound is produced by scrubbing a wet piece of cloth along the reed. -     "Triccheballache", are made of three small wooden hammers fixed, in the bottom, in a groove in a wood base. The central hammer is fixed and the instrument is playedby holding the two lateral hammers in the hands and beating them against the fixed central one. -    "Tamorra" or “tammurro” is formed by a big wood circular band, covered by stretched goat skin. The band has rectangular openings where some bells (obtained from old tin boxes that are called “’e cicerre”, or “’e cimbale”, or “cincioli) are placed.

An original festival and a feature of the Amalfitan Coast is the Potato Festival in Tovere, a small village near Amalfi; it has always been a huge success. The ancient gastronomical tradition are based on potatoes and visitors from all over the world can taste the wonderful meals cooked with this tuber. The local food is very cheap and it is easy to enjoy the tasty meals cooked by the women of the village.

There are several dishes and nobody will be disappointed: "gnocchi"; salad with potatoes and squids; an extraordinary pasta with potatoes; classic chips and potato croquettes; and then tasty cakes and the traditional "zeppola di patate" with sugar glaze over the top. You can eat all these wonderful titbits with many glasses of "Sangria". Every stand is full of people and the aromas wafting across the streets are so succulent, nobody can resist.

In September, the Amalfi Coast hosts the traditional Lemon Festival. This lemon, called "Sfusato Amalfitano", is typical for the thick peel used to make "Limoncello" :a liquor famous all over the world .As in every fair, food is the most important feature. Lemons aren't just juice and lemonade, lemons are the main ingredient for delicious cakes, chocolates, ice cream and tasty dishes.Visitors going from one kiosk to another will be overwhelmed by the perfume, the flavour and the excellence of the food on show.In the past women used lemons for every purpose:Lemon juice was a disinfectant for small wounds; it was a medicine: sore throats were cured with gargles of lemon juice; it was rare to suffer from diarrhea, because at the very first symptom a good glass of lemon juice would bring back normality! Lemon juice was put in the water and used to wash the children, to rinse hair after shampooing, to clean cutlery. A natural detergent that definitely did not pollute, was cheap and was always on hand. On the coast, lemon groves give three crops a year and whatever time visitors come to Amalfi, they will always have the opportunity to admire the golden fruits hanging from pergolas, covered with green nets in winter to protect the plants from hailstones and cold temperatures, but that in summer providing cooling and relaxing shade.!

Text by Carmela Camera - Photos: courtesy of the Centro di Storia e Cultura AmalfitanaIllustrations: courtesy of Mrs. Maria Carmela Gambardella