Maria SS. del Mirto Festival

One of the most evocative patronal feasts in the Agrigento area

The Maria SS. del Mirto Festival is the main religious and popular event in Villafranca Sicula, a town in the Agrigento hinterland, in the heart of Sicily. The celebration traditionally takes place on the weekend preceding the first Sunday of August, drawing numerous visitors, returning emigrants, and devotees from neighboring towns to the small village.

The legend of the discovery

The local devotion to the Madonna del Mirto is rooted in an ancient legend. According to tradition, a friar from Burgio was transporting two paintings of the Virgin when he lost one: he miraculously found it in the middle of a myrtle bush. After the image disappeared again in the same spot, the episode was interpreted as a divine will to build a church dedicated to the Madonna there, hence the name "del Mirto" (of the Myrtle).

The two factions: sammichilari and sangiuannara

The most characteristic feature of the festival is the ritual rivalry between the two historic factions that divide the town: the sammichilari, devoted to Saint Michael the Archangel and dressed in blue, and the sangiuannara, devoted to Saint John the Baptist and dressed in red. The two teams challenge each other in a display of devotion that enlivens every moment of the festivities, from the entry of the laurel to the rigattiate.

The entry of the laurel and the rigattiate

The eve of the festival is dedicated to the entry of the laurel: processions, performances, and fireworks accompany the faithful who carry laurel branches toward the Mother Church to the beat of drums. The highlight is the rigattiate: according to an ancient custom, the two factions carry the statues of the saints on their shoulders from their respective churches to the main church, lifting, lowering, and swaying them in a swirling dance to the overwhelming rhythm of the brass band, in homage to the Madonna.

The procession and the fireworks competition

On Sunday, the grand procession takes place with the painting of the Madonna del Mirto and the statues of Saint Michael and Saint John carried on flower-adorned floats, preceded by a solemn Holy Mass and the traditional tour of the drummers through the historic center. The festivities conclude with a nationally renowned fireworks competition, ranked among the most important fireworks displays in Italy, which illuminates the sky of Villafranca Sicula until late at night.

A festival of identity

More than just a religious appointment, the Maria SS. del Mirto Festival represents the very identity of the Villafranca Sicula community: popular traditions, faith, folklore, and spectacle blend into three intense days that renew the bond between the town and its patron saint year after year.