Saint Roch Patronal Feast

Saint Roch, patron saint of Gibellina

Saint Roch is the patron saint of Gibellina, a small town in the province of Trapani, in western Sicily. Its festival, celebrated around August 16th, is the most cherished moment of the Gibellina summer: for a few days, the community comes together through masses, processions, and convivial gatherings that blend devotion with local festivities.

A unique city in the Belìce Valley

Gibellina is no ordinary town. After the January 15, 1968, Belìce earthquake, which leveled the old center, the city was rebuilt a few kilometers downstream. Thanks to Mayor Ludovico Corrao, it became an open-air laboratory of contemporary art, featuring works by world-renowned artists and architects. The Saint Roch festival takes place in this very setting, centered around the Mother Church and the scenic Piazza XV Gennaio 1968, paved in travertine.

Festival rites

The celebrations traditionally span several days. Key highlights include:

• The handing over of the city keys to the statue of Saint Roch at the Saint's Chapel;
• The blessing of the dogs, linked to the iconography of Saint Roch and his faithful companion;
• The blessing of Saint Roch's bread and the tasting of pane cunzato;
• The drummers' parade that announces the festival day at dawn;
• The procession of the statue through the city streets, the religious heart of the day.

The Prisenti, symbols of the festival

The most distinctive artistic element of the festival is the Prisenti: large, embroidered processional banners carried during the Saint Roch celebrations. This ancient tradition, which nearly vanished after the 1968 earthquake, was revived in 1981 thanks to the Gibellina embroiderers' cooperative and the involvement of artists such as Pietro Consagra, Carla Accardi, Alighiero Boetti, and many others. The Prisenti tell the story of the unique encounter between popular faith and contemporary art in Gibellina.

A summer of music and community

On the evening of August 16th, in Piazza XV Gennaio 1968, the religious celebration gives way to secular festivities with a concert that draws both locals and emigrants returning for the summer. Over the years, the stage has hosted folk music groups and dance orchestras, creating an atmosphere of great participation that concludes the day dedicated to the patron saint.