In the ancient era it was one of the most important cities of the Paeligni and is known for being the native town of the Roman poet Ovid, of whom there is a bronze statue, located on the town’s main road and named after him.
One of the advantages of living in Abruzzo is that you can go from mountains to the coast in about a hour. This gives you a large choice of easy there and back in one day trips to wide selection of sights and towns.
Todays trip was to Sulmona. A medium sized city in the L’Aquila province.
Confetti
Sulmona is the home of the Italian confectionery known as confetti. These are sugar-coated almonds and are traditionally given to friends and relatives on weddings and other special occasions. Confetti can be eaten or simply used as decoration. The local artisans also colour these candies and craft them into flowers and other creations. There are two main factories in town and several shops that sell these items, the most famous of which is Confetti Mario Pelino
The lower picture is what we brought home. The upper picture is what we were tempted to bring home.
The Giostra Cavalleresca
Fromhttps://www.giostrasulmona.it/)
The Giostra Cavalleresca Sulmonese, abandoned in the seventeenth century due to “non-application and lack of warriors”, has returned to new life, although inevitably adapted to the times: no more errant knights to engage in bloody clashes, no fences to restart the field or “barrel” in “tappet”, no longer the “maintainer” perched in his iron armor, nor broken spears and much less bleeding wounds. All this is just past news, history of other times. For the moment, only four districts and three villages of the medieval city (only seven out of eleven) participate in the modern joust, which always takes place on the traditional “campo” of Piazza Maggiore, represented by a horse-rider combination drawn by lot. Each individual competitor will travel the track at a gallop, trying to thread the rings of different diameters with the spear (6, 8 and 10 cm.)
Madonna Che Scappa (The Running Madonna)
(From SulmonaLive.it)
On the morning of Easter, the Garibaldi Square is occupied by thousands of people, crowds gather everywhere, leaving free only the route that Madonna should follow to reach her risen Son (marked and limited by barriers).
To those who had the honor to attend the event, the square appears picturesque and impressive, dressed in colors, soaked in emotions, anxiety, and expectations. So much, that even long after the event, it is still possible to see and feel it again in the memory, where it remained as a momentary photo.
Crowd occupies everything – terraces, balconies, windows, staircases – everything is literally covered by the curious who, with an anxious enthusiasm, are waiting for 12:00, the hour, when it all begins.
Order of the ritual
While chaos and thrill dominate over the square, on the eastern side, in the 17th century church of San Filippo Neri, another dimension reigns, that of sacrality. Here the Virgin is closed in her pain and, dressed in mourning clothes, weeps for her dead Son, who sacrificed himself to save humanity.
Besides the statue of the Madonna, two statues of saints participate in the ritual, those of Saint Peter and Saint John, whose role is to announce to the Virgin the Resurrection of her Son.
The statues, preceded by a long row of lamp carriers and supported by four members of the Confraternity (lauretani)[6], arrive in the square at 11:30 and begin their walk towards the San Filippo church, where they stop at the threshold.
According to the tradition, before the Virgin leaves her place of solitude, three calls of the Saints announcing the Resurrection of the Christ should take place.
The first one to knock on the door of the church is Saint John, but the Madonna will not respond. The second one to try is Saint Peter, who “succeeds” with the same result, until with the third knock, again by Saint John (beloved apostle of Jesus), the portal opens its doors.
At this moment, the Virgin, still not entirely persuaded by the words of the apostles, leaves the praying place, slowly walking towards the center of the square, followed by the statues of the Saints.
The Madonna proceeds with the same slow pace till the Big Fountain, which is more or less in the middle of the square, and in an atmosphere of suspense and anxiety hears the whisper of the crowd:
– …here she is coming…
– …did you see her? No, it’s still early…
– …have they reached the Big Fountain?…
– …how much is left?
– …here we are…
– Here, coming!
– I’ve seen her!
– …Here!…
And while the tension on the faces of brothers of the Confraternity grows together with their concentration, next to the Big Fountain the Virgin sees her risen Son and begins her run to unite with Him that is awaiting her in triumph at the end of the square, under a red canopy between the arches of the aqueduct.
While she is accomplishing her full of hopes run, her appearance changes: the black cloak falls on the ground revealing green clothes, in the right hand a white handkerchief that accompanied her in mournings leaves place for a red rose, while ten doves free themselves into the flight under the thunder of cannons.[7]
Applause, shots, and flight of doves explode in an atmosphere of participation and high emotions, because this is a performance that pulls the strings of one’s soul, calling to the most authentic values, such as a deep bond between a mother and her son. Once they meet each other, they seem to turn back to being simple statues and then become part of the city procession together with the local authorities and members of both Confraternities.
Santa Annunziata
The Annunziata Complex, is the most representative monument of the city, consisting of an adjacent church and building that stand on the square of the same name. Begun in 1413, its construction lasted for over two centuries and the earthquake of 1706 with the renovations of the nineteenth and 1968 have massively modified the internal part.