During your stay in the Relais Torre Marabino, situated in Ispica, in Ragusa district, in Val di Noto, in Sicily, you can take part to chocolate, and religious celebrations in the Noto Valley.
CAVALCATA DI SAN GIUSEPPE
In March, on the occasion of the feast of St. Joseph, in Scicli there is the Cavalcade of St. Joseph. To celebrate the saint, they organize a wonderful procession of horses running through the town streets. The horses are decorated with colorful blankets made with flowers. These spectacular and intricate decorations are real works of art rich of details that portray scenes from the life of St. Joseph and the Nativity and are made with care and dedication. At the head of the procession there are Joseph and Mary who are honored in the streets with the lighting of the “pagghiari”, small bonfires.
Cavalcata San Giuseppe photo cavalcatasangiuseppe
SETTIMANA SANTA
For the Holy Week before Easter, in the villages situated in the Syracusans Iblei there are the processions. These religious celebrations have an old tradition and see many villages in the area engaged in great participation and representations. In Buccheri the series of processions is called “Passiu Santu” which begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday, and includes performances in dialect with hundreds of actors and extras.
FESTA DELLA MADONNA DELLE MILIZIE
In May in Scicli history and religion are inseparable in the Feast of the Virgin of the Army. The Madonna is depicted on horseback, in armor and sword and represents the battle between the Normans and Saracens. In fact in 1091 the Normans drove the Saracens out of the island and the Virgin Mary is related to this crucial historic moment because, thanks to her intercession the Christians, with Roger de Hauteville, could win against the Muslim army. For the occasion, the town organizes the re-enactment of the battle that ends with the arrival of the Madonna and the victory of the Christians.
INFIORATA
The 3rd weekend of May in Noto there’s the Flower Festival. For over thirty years, this event has been celebrating the spring with thousands of flowers and petals used to create decorations, figures and coats of arms. The heart of the event is via Nicolaci that is covered with floral works of art made by artists, but also by children and other groups in the town who prepare the flowers and petals in the previous weeks.
Flower Festival photo gazzettinodelsudest
IBLA BUSKERS
In October in Ragusa Ibla there’s the Ibla Buskers, a festival dedicated to street artists. The event takes place in the streets of the ancient Baroque district, to creating an exceptional and evocative setting for the performance of the artists. Among jugglers, mimes, musicians, fire-eaters, acrobats and many other figures that animate the days and evenings of Ragusa, you can also discover the hidden corners of the town.
CHOCOBAROCCO
In December in Modica there’s the Chocobarocco festival, dedicated entirely to homemade chocolate. The striking union between the chocolate and the environments in the Baroque style of the old town center creates an even more attractive festival to enhance Modica, and its gastronomic tradition.
Charming home near by
