Festival of Saint Anthony the Abbot

A festival born from devotion against Etna's lava

In Nicolosi, a small town in the Etna area near Catania known as the Gateway to Etna, Saint Anthony the Abbot is venerated as a co-patron and, above all, as the protector of the town against the volcano's lava flows. The cult of the Saint dates back to the late 16th and 17th centuries and is inextricably linked to the history of Etna's eruptions: in 1669 and, even more significantly, in 1886, when the lava stopped right at the edge of the town, the people of Nicolosi attributed their salvation to the intercession of Saint Anthony the Abbot. Since then, the festival has been the most intense expression of the town's collective identity.

Liturgical feast and external feast

Nicolosi celebrates the Saint twice a year. The liturgical feast falls on January 17th, preceded by a novena and marked by the Confraternity's nocturnal rites, including the famous dawn unveiling of the statue. The external feast, moved to summer for climatic reasons, takes place on the first Sunday of July and the days immediately preceding and following it: it is the 'people's festival', the most popular event that fills the streets and squares of the historic center.

The rituals and most anticipated moments

• The Svelata: the emotional unveiling of the Saint's wooden statue, greeted by the joyful cries of the devotees.
• The blessing of the animals: during the Sunday procession, the float stops in Piazza San Francesco, where the faithful bring dogs, horses, and donkeys to receive a blessing, in a ritual that recalls Saint Anthony's role as the protector of animals.
• The A'cchianata 'a sciara: the ascent of the statue along the steep lava slope, a gesture that commemorates the miraculous stopping of the lava in 1886.
• The Cantata: the ancient traditional musical performance with which, on Monday evening, the Saint is welcomed upon exiting the Mother Church.
• The blessing of vehicles along Viale della Regione, a modern evolution of popular devotion.

The procession

The festivities open on the first Friday of July with a procession accompanying the Madonna delle Grazie and the relic of Saint Anthony the Abbot from the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie to the Mother Church. On Saturday, the eve of the feast, after Holy Mass, a procession winds through the streets with the relics of Saint Anthony the Abbot, Saint Anthony of Padua (patron of Nicolosi), and the statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, carried on the shoulders of the faithful. On Sunday at noon, amidst the festive ringing of bells and fireworks, the statue of the Patron Saint leaves the Mother Church, beginning the procession through the town's streets.

Between faith and popular tradition

Alongside the religious rites, the days of the festival offer musical performances, entertainment, and the traditional fireworks that animate the squares of Nicolosi. The devotion is also witnessed by the 'House of Miracles', which preserves centuries of ex-votos. The Festival of Saint Anthony the Abbot remains one of the most authentic appointments in the popular culture of Etna and Sicily, an opportunity to discover the traditions of a village closely linked to its volcano.