Saint John the Baptist Festival of Acitrezza

The patronal feast of Acitrezza

The Saint John the Baptist Festival is the most anticipated event in Acitrezza, a seaside hamlet of the municipality of Aci Castello, in the province of Catania, Sicily. Overlooking the Lungomare dei Ciclopi, facing the famous sea stacks immortalized in Giovanni Verga's novel The House by the Medlar Tree, the village gathers every year around its patron saint in a crescendo of religious rites, folk traditions, and festivities that bring its squares and small harbor to life.

A tradition dating back to 1750

The origins of the festival date back to around 1750, the year the wooden statue of Saint John the Baptist, venerated in the town, was inaugurated. Since then, the local community has renewed every June 24th, the day of the Saint's Nativity, the deep bond between faith and seafaring life, in a village where fishing was for centuries the primary economic and food resource.

'U pisci a mari', the heart of the festival

The most awaited element is the 'U pisci a mari' pantomime, performed by the fishermen of Aci Trezza in the waters in front of the Scalo di Alaggio. It is a parody of swordfish hunting in the Strait of Messina: just as the rais (head fisherman) once spotted the prey from the mast while the sailors rowed to strike it with a harpoon, the village fishermen re-enact that ancestral gesture, transforming it into a show with a comic, exaggerated, and folkloric tone. It is the symbolic representation of the continuous struggle against natural elements to survive in a land of the sea.

Rites, processions, and fireworks

The celebrations span several days: the eve with the procession of the Sacred Relic, the bell ringing and cannon fire at dawn on June 24th, the solemn unveiling of the statue, the pontifical mass, the triumphal procession of the Saint through the streets of the town, and, at the end of the main day, the fireworks display over the sea. Alongside the religious program, there are musical evenings, dialect theater performances, and cultural initiatives promoted by the Festival Committee and the 'U pisci a mari' cultural association.

The Swordfish Festival

Completing the festival is the historic Swordfish Festival, which for over thirty years has fired up the large grills at the Scalo di Alaggio: thousands of swordfish steaks served with salad, homemade bread, and Etna white wine, in a convivial atmosphere that attracts visitors from all over the province of Catania. An opportunity to discover the authentic face of a village that has made the sea its identity.