Feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra (Patronal Feast)

A patronal feast in the heart of the Sicilian Arberia

On December 6th, the municipality of Palazzo Adriano, in the province of Palermo (Sicily), gathers around its Patron Saint for the Feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra. It is one of the most deeply felt observances in the Alto Belice Corleonese area, profoundly linked to the village's Arbëresh identity: Palazzo Adriano was repopulated starting in 1481-1482 by Albanian refugees who arrived in Sicily after the death of George Castriota Scanderbeg, and it still maintains the coexistence of Latin-rite and Byzantine-Greek-rite communities.

The Byzantine rite and the Church of Saint Nicholas

The festival takes place around the Church of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a late 15th-century building constructed around 1490 by Albanian settlers and considered the first church of the village's refoundation. Damaged by World War II bombings and the 1968 Belice earthquake, the church remained closed for a long time and was returned to worship after an extensive restoration. The celebration follows the Byzantine-Greek rite, one of the most precious legacies that the Italo-Albanian community of Palazzo Adriano, together with that of Mezzojuso, has managed to preserve over the centuries despite having lost the Arbëresh language.

The novena and the eve

The festival is organized every year by the Confraternity of Saint Nicholas and is preceded by the novena, which takes place in the Church of Saint Nicholas of Myra: in the afternoon, the faithful participate in the recitation of the Holy Rosary and the Divine Liturgy. On the eve of the feast, at the convent of the Basilian nuns, one of the village's most characteristic traditions is renewed: the blessing and distribution of "virgineddi", a humble soup once offered to the needy, prepared with homemade long pasta, rice, beans, lentils, and broccoli.

The day of the feast

On December 6th, the festivities are announced at the first light of dawn by the festive ringing of bells. In the morning, the Solemn Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the saint's church, while in the late afternoon, the procession begins, accompanying the statue of the Patron Saint along the streets of the historic center. At the end of the celebrations, the triform Saint Nicholas Bread is distributed, prepared by families as a vow or for a grace received and blessed during the festival.

A heritage of faith and tradition

• Where: Palazzo Adriano (PA), an Arbëresh village in the Alto Belice Corleonese
• When: Every year on December 6th, the feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra
• Rite: Byzantine-Greek, a legacy of the Italo-Albanian community
• Traditions: Novena, virgineddi, procession of the statue, triform Saint Nicholas Bread

Between Eastern liturgy, popular devotion, and ancient flavors, the Feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra is a precious opportunity to discover the Arbëresh soul of Sicily and one of the most evocative villages in the province of Palermo, already famous for being the set of the film "Cinema Paradiso".