«In Passione Domini» Good Friday Procession

One of the oldest rites in Southern Italy

The «In Passione Domini» Procession is the most intense moment of Holy Week in Eboli, in the province of Salerno, Campania. Municipal records describe it as one of the oldest religious events commemorating the Passion and death of Jesus Christ in Southern Italy: a devotion renewed every Good Friday that, for generations, has marked the city's emotional calendar.

This is not a re-enactment staged for tourists, but a living rite, sustained by the parish and popular participation. Those arriving in Eboli that evening will find shutters drawn, city center streets cleared of traffic, and a silent crowd lining the entire route.

The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Pietà, the starting point

The procession begins at the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Pietà on Corso Umberto I, in the heart of the historic center. The church dates back to the 12th century, when it was dedicated to Santa Maria de Conce; its current name appeared in the early 16th century, and in 1531, Pope Clement VII elevated it to a collegiate church with the bull «In supereminentis Apostolice dignitatis», dated May 4th.

Inside, the wooden Pietà group is preserved, a work by Giacomo Colombo created in 1702 commissioned by the local nobleman Don Antonio de Clario: a sculpture that only leaves the church for major events, most recently for the 2000 Jubilee. In a chapel of the same church, the statues that traverse the city streets every year are kept: the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows.

The procession through the city streets

At the appointed time, traditionally around 7:30 PM, the two statues pass through the portico of the Collegiate Church and set off along the city streets, including the central Viale Amendola. The pace is slow and measured: it is this rhythm, more than anything else, that gives Eboli's Good Friday its suspended atmosphere.

• Departure of the statues of the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows from the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Pietà
• Procession through the city center, crowded with thousands of faithful and visitors
• Return to the main church and blessing of the faithful from the central balcony of the portico
• Evening vigil before the statues, lasting until late into the night

The vigil until late at night

When the statues return to the main church, the priest imparts a blessing from the central balcony of the portico, facing the still-crowded square. From that moment, the vigil begins, lasting throughout the evening and continuing until late at night: this is the most intimate and least «spectacular» part of the rite, where the community remains alone with its statues.

Eboli, the Sele Plain, and its identity

Eboli overlooks the Sele Plain, halfway between Salerno and the Cilento region, in a position that has always made it an agricultural and commercial crossroads. The city's name entered the collective imagination thanks to Carlo Levi's Christ Stopped at Eboli, but the real Eboli is a vibrant center, with an ancient core perched on a hill and a modern lower part that grew in the 20th century.

In this context, the Good Friday procession acts as a major identity-forming rite: it calls back those who have emigrated, reunites families, and stages, without rhetoric, the city's relationship with its own religious history.

When it takes place

The date changes every year as it follows the Easter calendar: the procession is always held on the evening of Good Friday, falling between late March and the second half of April. In 2026, Good Friday fell on April 3rd; in 2025, it was April 18th. Travelers should always check the date of Easter before booking.