Holy Week and Processions of the Mysteries in Ruvo di Puglia

One of the oldest Holy Weeks in Puglia

The Holy Week in Ruvo di Puglia, in the Metropolitan City of Bari, is the quintessential identity-defining event for this town on the Murgia plateau. Its origins date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, amidst the devotional climate of the Counter-Reformation: the Mysteries procession on Good Friday, the oldest of them all, has roots in the 17th century, while other pageants were introduced between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2010, these rites were recognized as intangible heritage of Italy by the Central Institute for Demoethnoanthropology.

The four confraternities

The rites are guarded and brought to life by four secular associations, each with its own vestments and procession:

• Opera Pia San Rocco (1576), the oldest still active, organizes the night procession of the Otto Santi;
• Arciconfraternita del Carmine (1604), coordinates the Mysteries procession on Good Friday;
• Confraternita del Purgatorio (1678), oversees the Pietà procession on Holy Saturday;
• Confraternita Purificazione-Addolorata (1777), responsible for the Desolata and the Risen Jesus.

The processions and the simulacra

The rites begin on Passion Friday with the procession of the Desolata, the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows created in 1907 by Corrado Binetti from Molfetta, nicknamed by the people "Maduònne du Vinde" (Our Lady of the Wind). Holy Thursday is marked by the evocative night procession of the Otto Santi, the papier-mâché sculptural group by Raffaele Caretta (1920) depicting the Transport of Christ to the Sepulcher. Good Friday is the culmination with the Mysteries: nine wooden statues, including the venerated Jesus at Calvary made of cherry wood in 1674. Holy Saturday is dedicated to the Pietà by Giuseppe Manzo (1898-1901), inspired by Michelangelo's Vatican Pietà. On Easter Sunday, the Risen Jesus transforms sorrow into joy, while on Easter Monday, the procession of the Annunziata in the village of Calendano concludes the rites.

Funeral marches and bands

The absolute protagonists are the town bands, which accompany the processions, setting the slow pace for the bearers with funeral marches composed by local authors such as Basilio Giandonato and Evaristo Pancaldi. Today, the "Basilio Giandonato" and "Nicola Cassano" concert bands take turns. Traditional instruments like u tammùrre (the drum) and the truozzue (the wooden clapper) mark the Passion, calling the population to prayer.

Ruvo traditions

A peculiarity of Ruvo is the display of white sheets from balconies as the processions pass, a symbol of the Shroud and a gesture of devotion. In the days leading up to Easter, the Carmine Church hosts the exhibition of the sacred statues of the Mysteries, one of the most precious treasures of Ruvo's popular religiosity. The week is enriched by concerts of Easter marches and moments of prayer in the churches of the historic center.