Noicattaro Holy Week – Procession of the Mysteries
The Easter rites of Noicattaro featuring the crociferi, the Naca, and the Procession of the Mysteries
About Noicattaro Holy Week
Holy Week in Noicattaro
In the heart of the Province of Bari, the town of Noicattaro—historically known as Noja—hosts one of the most intense and deeply felt Holy Week celebrations in Puglia. From Holy Thursday to Holy Saturday, the historic center transforms into a grand stage for popular devotion, featuring nocturnal processions, hooded penitents, and effigies of the Passion carried on shoulders through streets lit only by torches.
The crociferi, the soul of the rites
The most iconic symbol of the Noicattaro Holy Week are the crociferi: hooded men, wrapped in long black robes and walking barefoot, who traverse the town streets carrying heavy wooden crosses on their shoulders while dragging iron chains. In silence, broken only by the sound of chains on the pavement and prayers, they visit multiple churches throughout the night in a penitential pilgrimage rooted in the community's historical memory.
The Naca and the Dead Christ
The heart of Good Friday is the Naca Procession. The 'naca', a local dialect term for a peasant cradle—the kind that rested on two curved wooden supports—is a gilded wooden canopy within which the effigy of the Dead Christ is laid, cradled as if resting in his Mother's arms. The procession departs from the Church of Santa Maria della Lama and winds through the main streets and squares of the center to the Mother Church, in an atmosphere of profound emotion.
The Procession of the Mysteries
The concluding moment is the long Procession of the Mysteries on Holy Saturday, which departs from Largo Sant'Agostino: the effigies depict the most significant moments of Christ's Passion and parade for hours through the city streets, accompanied by over a hundred crociferi who never set down their crosses. The representation concludes in the evening, before the Easter Vigil in the parish churches.
A tradition preserved for centuries
Keeping this legacy alive is the Confraternity of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ, established in the 16th century. Since 1940, the Augustinian friars who arrived in Noicattaro have restored the church and supported the work of the confraternity. Along with those in Taranto, Molfetta, Bisceglie, and Conversano, the Noicattaro rites represent one of the most authentic experiences for those visiting Puglia during the Easter period.
Noicattaro Holy Week — edition 2026
Noicattaro Holy Week 2026
The 2026 calendar of Noicattaro's Easter rites opened on Thursday, April 2, and concluded on Saturday, April 4. Holy Thursday saw the lighting of the bonfire at Largo Sant'Agostino by the Passion Confraternity at 8:00 PM, followed by the first procession of the crociferi with the cross departing from the Madonna della Lama Church, alongside the traditional institutional pilgrimage to visit the altars of repose in the seven churches.
Good Friday was marked by the Naca Procession, which departed at 8:00 PM from the Church of Santa Maria della Lama along Corso Roma and Piazza Umberto, arriving at the Mother Church around 11:00 PM, and by the Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows, which began at 2:00 AM with stops at the historic churches (Carmine, Annunziata, Cappuccini, Immacolata, Lama). On Holy Saturday, at 2:00 PM, the long Procession of the Mysteries from Largo Sant'Agostino concluded the rites, followed in the evening by the Easter Vigil in the parish churches.
Programme Noicattaro Holy Week 2026
Holy Thursday — April 2
- 8:00 PM — Lighting of the bonfire at Largo Sant'Agostino by the Passion Confraternity
- Evening — First cross and penitential procession of the hooded crociferi from the Madonna della Lama Church; institutional procession with municipal and clergy representatives to visit the altars of repose of the seven churches
Good Friday — April 3
- 8:00 PM — Naca Procession from the Church of Santa Maria della Lama, along Corso Roma and Piazza Umberto, arriving at the Mother Church around 11:00 PM
- 2:00 AM — Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows from the Mother Church, with stops at the historic churches of Carmine, Annunziata, Cappuccini, Immacolata, and Lama
Holy Saturday — April 4
- 2:00 PM — Procession of the Mysteries from Largo Sant'Agostino through the city streets
- Evening — Return of the effigies and Easter Vigil in the parish churches
Highlights Noicattaro Holy Week 2026
Prices Noicattaro Holy Week 2026
Practical information — Noicattaro Holy Week
Getting there
Noicattaro is located inland in the Province of Bari, about 15 km from the regional capital. By car, it can be reached via the SS16, taking the exit for Noicattaro. By train, the town is served by the Ferrovie del Sud Est (Bari-Putignano-Casarano line), with a station near the center.
Parking and tips
During the rites, five public parking areas are available on Via Capurso, Via Mazzini, Via Desimini, Via Amendola, and Via Cadorna (FSE railway area). The processions are free and open to the public; we recommend wearing clothing suitable for nighttime temperatures, comfortable footwear, and maintaining respect for the solemnity of the faithful, especially during the Naca and the nocturnal processions.
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Where does it take place — Noicattaro Holy Week
Centro storico, Chiesa Madonna della Lama e Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
Largo Sant'Agostino, 70016 Noicattaro