The Vare, Mysteries and processions of the city of sulphur
In the heart of Sicily, Caltanissetta celebrates one of the most intense Holy Weeks on the island. The rituals begin on Palm Sunday and culminate on Wednesday and Thursday, when the city fills with processions accompanied by bands playing funeral marches.
On Holy Wednesday the Real Maestranza, the ancient guild of artisans, parades in black with the "captain" carrying the cross. On the evening of Holy Thursday the Vare, sixteen large groups of papier-mâché and wood statues depicting the scenes of the Passion, made in the nineteenth century by Neapolitan sculptors, are carried through the streets, illuminated and decorated with flowers, by the various guilds of the city. On Good Friday the black Christ, the Signore della Città, is carried by the fogliamari, barefoot devotees.
Tip: outside Holy Week, some Vare can be seen in the dedicated museum; the cathedral has a vault frescoed by the Flemish painter Willem Borremans.
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