During your holiday in La Masseria Susafa situated in Polizzi Generosa, in Palermo district, in the Madonie Park, in Sicily, you can take part to food festivals and much more in the Madonie Regional Park.
ECCE HOMO
In June, in Sclafani Bagni, there’s the religious event Ecce Homo. The statue, made of paper, is very old, and it is kept in the chapel of the Mother Church. For the occasion it is carried in solemn procession through the streets of the village, in a charming atmosphere of participation and devotion.
SAGRA DELLE NOCCIOLE
In August, in Polizzi Generosa there’s the hazelnuts festival. Hazelnuts are a typical delicious products and during the festival you can taste them together with the many desserts that are prepared with this ingredient along with many other typical Sicilian products. The festival is very beautiful because the village is filled with wooden huts built for the occasion and in the streets you will see donkeys and Sicilian carts that carry the products. There are also representations of ancient crafts that will take you back in time.
RADUNO MEDITERRANEO DEL FOLKLORE INTERNAZIONALE
In August in Petralia Sottana there’s the Mediterranean Gathering of the International folklore. This beautiful festival has been done for thirty years now and in a few days the village becomes a stage for art, dance, theater, concerts. The artists are Italian and international and are dedicated to folk culture of their country. A lot of attention is given to the local tradition and the typical Sicilian musical instruments such as the tambourine and friscaletto.
SAGRA DELLA SPIGA E FESTA DEI BURGISI
In August in Gangi there’s the Festival of the spike and festival of Burgisi. This festival was born in the farming world and celebrates the abundance with the ears of wheat protagonists of a beautiful procession linked to the ancient Greek gods. The most important goddess is Demeter, or Ceres, mother and goddess of grain.
Dance of the Cordella photo radunodelfolklorepetralia
BALLO DELLA CORDELLA
In August in Petralia Sottana there’s an historical rally called Dance of the Cordella. This is the re-enactment of the ancient pagan peasant customs. The dance takes place in the context of the Bridal Procession, with the bride and groom dressed in beautiful eighteenth century clothes. The dance, also called Pantomime Dance of the Cordella, is a wish to the bride and groom. It takes place with 12 pairs of dancers, each of which holds a colored ribbon. All ribbons are tied to a pole topped with a bouquet of ears of corn. In the dance, that is very scenic, the dancers weave the ribbons with precise movements, to wish fertility and abundance to the newly married couple.
GIOSTRA DEI VENTIMIGLIA
In August in Geraci there’s the Giostra dei Ventimiglia. It is a beautiful historical representation with a horseback ride that celebrates the Ventimiglia family and the period in which it reigned over the Madonie, almost two centuries long. With the ride there’s a beautiful historic parade in costume and many knightly games. Among them, the buckwheat game, where each knight must strike a wooden puppet; the carousel of the Rings where they have to take three rings with a spear; the ride of the Rose, where the riders must catch a flower on a puppet and take it as a gift to his wife.
