Good Friday Procession – Dead Christ Pageant

One of the most evocative rites of the Abruzzo Holy Week

The Good Friday Procession is the highlight of Holy Week in Sulmona, located in the heart of the Province of L'Aquila and the Peligna Valley, in Abruzzo. Organized by the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Trinity, which has guarded this tradition since 1827, the procession sets off at dusk from the Baroque Church of the Most Holy Trinity and winds through the historic center until late at night, returning around midnight.

The Trinitarians and the "struscio"

The absolute protagonists are the Trinitarians, the confreres in red robes who accompany the Bara (bier) of the Dead Christ with the characteristic struscio—a slow, rhythmic, and swaying step that brushes against the cobblestones of the historic center, giving the procession a hypnotic and moving cadence. It is this gait, combined with the evening darkness illuminated by lanterns, that makes this one of the most famous processions in Abruzzo.

The Miserere and the pageant

Leading the procession is the Tronco, the large 18th-century crimson velvet cross adorned with silver. Following are the lanterns carried by the confreres, children bearing the symbols of the Passion, the Dead Christ laid on a catafalque decorated with red carnations, and finally, the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows dressed in black. Throughout the route, over a hundred choristers from the Schola Cantorum chant the Miserere, accompanied by a band playing a funeral march: the compositions alternate each year between those of Barcone (even years) and Scotti (odd years).

A cross-shaped route

The procession symbolically traces a cross through the historic center of Sulmona, touching thirteen city churches including the Cathedral of San Panfilo, the Annunziata, San Domenico, and Santa Maria della Tomba, before traveling along Corso Ovidio to reach Piazza Garibaldi. On Easter Sunday, in the same square, the famous "Madonna che Scappa" (The Running Madonna) is celebrated, completing the cycle of Sulmona's Easter rites.

A living tradition for nearly two centuries

Inspired by the model of the processions that the Roman confreres of Saint Philip Neri celebrated on Holy Thursday, the Trinitarian procession has been held without interruption since 1827. Every year, it draws thousands of spectators to Sulmona, including the faithful, curious onlookers, and visitors attracted by one of the most powerful identity-defining rites in the entire Abruzzo region.