Page 62 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

have their own rituals, such as the festive boat parade and fish-fry of Sagra del
Mare at Sciacca. During May’s Pesce a Mare festa at Aci Trezza, on the Catania
coast, as the local tourist brochure puts it, “a fisherman pretends to be a fish and
excitedly the local fishermen catch him”. Unmissable, for different reasons, is the
pilgrimage every May in the Etna foothills, when the pious run, barefoot and

shirtless, up to the sanctuary at Trecastagni.

Carnevale

Carnevale (Carnival, or Mardi Gras) is celebrated in the five days immediately
before the start of Lent (in practice, some time between the end of February and the
end of March). Traditionally, its significance is as the last bout of indulgence before
the abstinence of Lent, which lasts for forty days and ends with Easter. Sicily’s best

carnival is generally judged to be at Acireale on the Catania coast, where flower-
filled floats, parades and concerts keep the townspeople occupied for days. Most
towns and villages, however, manage to put on a little bit of a show, with kids
walking around in costume, and street vendors selling local carnival food – inevitably
a local variation of sweetened fried bread dough.

TRADITIONAL ENTERTAINMENT

Puppet theatre (teatro dei pupi) has been popular in Sicily since the fourteenth
century. The shows are always the same, and all Sicilians know the stories, which
centre on the clash between Christianity and Islam. As each strutting, stiff-legged

knight, such as Orlando (Roland) and Rinaldo, is introduced, the puppeteer lists his
exploits. There may be a love interest, perhaps a jousting tournament to win the hand
of Charlemagne’s daughter, before the main business of staged battles between the
Christians and the Saracen invaders. Between bouts, Orlando may fight a crocodile,
or confront monsters and magicians. Things climax with some great historical battle,
like Roncesvalles, culminating in betrayal and treachery as the boys face an untimely

and drawn-out death. The whole story plays out regularly in theatre shows in
Acireale, and also tourist centres like Siracusa and Taormina, though it’s Palermo
where you can best explore the tradition.

Easter

All over the island, Easter week is celebrated with slow-moving processions and
ostentatious displays of penitence and mourning. Particularly dramatic events take

place at Erice, Marsala and Taormina, while at Enna in the interior, thousands
march in silent procession behind holy statues and processional carts. It’s in Trapani,
however, that the procession of statues is raised to an art form. Just as they have been