La Crocifissione

The 2025 edition

The oldest living Passion play in Irpinia took place on Friday, April 18, 2025, at 7:30 PM, in Piazza Municipio in Cesinali, in the province of Avellino. As every year, the organization was handled by the «CFV» Dramatic Art Group together with the municipal administration, the Pro Loco of Cesinali, and the Parish of San Silvestro Papa, under the patronage of the Province of Avellino.

The main theme chosen for the edition was «Suffering»: the suffering visible everywhere around us, that repeatedly inflicted upon the weak and defenseless, and that caused by wars to men and women all over the world. The script, always faithful to the work «Angoscia d'anime» by master Carmine Fernando Venezia, was revised and integrated with new texts inspired by the contemporary situation.

On the open-air stage, the classic scenes of the story alternated: the Last Supper, the Garden of Olives, the Sanhedrin, the trial before Pilate, the mockery of Herod, the Via Crucis, and finally the crucifixion. In this edition, too, admission was free.

Friday, April 18, 2025 — from 7:30 PM, Piazza Municipio

• Initial procession: the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
• The Last Supper
• The agony in the Garden of Olives
• The trial before the Sanhedrin
• The judgment of Pontius Pilate
• The mockery of Herod
• The Via Crucis through the town streets
• The crucifixion, final act in the Cesinali countryside

• Theme of the edition: «Suffering», with new texts inspired by current events
• Full text based on «Angoscia d'anime» by Carmine Fernando Venezia
• Hundreds of local actors and extras, in front of thousands of spectators
• Original music, sets, and costumes created specifically for the event