Saint Sebastian Festival

A devotion from the Nebrodi mountains

The Saint Sebastian Festival is the most significant religious and popular event in Maniace, a town in the Metropolitan City of Catania located at the foot of the Nebrodi mountains in Sicily. The cult of the martyr saint has its roots in 1937, when farmers from Tortorici who settled in Maniace wished to introduce the festival with the same customs and rites as their hometown. Since then, Saint Sebastian has been the town's patron saint, and his festival marks two fundamental moments of the year.

Two appointments: January and May

The devotion is expressed on two distinct occasions. On January 20th, in line with the liturgical calendar, the winter festival takes place, while on the Sunday following May 17th, the town experiences the so-called "May Festival," which is even more intense in its rituals and attendance. On both occasions, the celebrations revolve around the Church of Saint Sebastian the Martyr and the evocative Abbey of Santa Maria di Maniace, built next to the Nelson Castle.

Traditional rituals

• U Dauru: on the Sunday before the festival, laurel and holly branches are decorated with red ribbons and images of the Saint, then blessed and carried in procession to the sound of the "ciaramedda" (bagpipe), in memory of the laurel to which Saint Sebastian was traditionally tied.
• The blessing of the panuzzi: during the Vespers of the eve, the "panuzzi"—small devotional breads—are blessed and distributed to the faithful, along with the "Voti" (votive offerings).
• The Nuri: men and women dressed in white and barefoot who, according to an ancient custom born during times of hardship, through mud and snow, carry the saint's statue on their shoulders.
• The Fuitina: the most anticipated moment, when the Nuri run three times along the aisles of the Benedictine church, following the Latin cross floor plan, with the saint on their shoulders.
• The three turns around the Celtic cross: before starting the procession through the districts, the bearers circle the cross located in the center of the Castle courtyard three times.

A shared heritage

The procession of the statue lasts for an entire octave, crossing all the districts of the municipal territory. For the community of Maniace, the Saint Sebastian Festival represents much more than a religious recurrence: it is a sign of an identity built around the historical "diaspora" between the Nebrodi mountains and kept alive, even today, with the same customs and rites of the past.