The Festival of Santa Rosalia, in honour of Palermo’s patron saint, the ‘Santuzza’, is one of the oldest in the Mediterranean and takes place every year from 10 to 15 July. Santa Rosalia was a noble lady of Norman birth who lived as a hermit and died at the age of about thirty in the cave that now houses her shrine. It is said that in 1624, the year of a terrible plague epidemic in the city, the saint’s spirit appeared to a hunter in a dream and showed him the place where her remains lay, asking him to carry them in procession. The hunter listened to the saint’s requests and the city was saved from the deadly disease. This is the miracle of Santa Rosalia.
1624 thus marks the beginning of the procession and feast ritual, called ‘u fistinu’, which has been organised every year ever since.
The central part of the fest, which takes place on the evening of 14 July, opens with the procession of the cart, once pulled by oxen or other animals – in the 17th century, even elephants were used – carrying the statue of the saint. The route goes from Palazzo dei Normanni to Foro Italico. The feast ends with beautiful fireworks. The procession of the silver urn, which holds the saint’s remains, takes place on 15 July. If you are in Palermo at the end of July, the fest of Santa Rosalia is truly an event not to be missed.
The central part of the fest, which takes place on the evening of 14 July, opens with the procession of the cart, once pulled by oxen or other animals – in the 17th century, even elephants were used – carrying the statue of the saint. The route goes from Palazzo dei Normanni to Foro Italico. The feast ends with beautiful fireworks. The procession of the silver urn, which holds the saint’s remains, takes place on 15 July. If you are in Palermo at the end of July, the fest of Santa Rosalia is truly an event not to be missed.
The culinary specialities associated with the Santuzza feast are pasta con le sarde, babbaluci, boiled snails with garlic and parsley, boiled octopus, watermelon, bread with panelle, country ice-cream, a kind of soft nougat in the colours of the Italian flag, ‘calia’ (roasted chickpeas) and ‘simienza’ (dried pumpkin seeds), ‘pollanca’ or boiled corn on the cob.