Spring Festival of Saint Sebastian the Martyr

A patronal feast that returns in spring

In the heart of the Nebrodi mountains, in the province of Messina, the town of Tortorici dedicates one of Sicily's most intense and deeply rooted devotions to its Patron, Saint Sebastian the Martyr. While the main feast falls on January 20th, the Tortorici tradition includes a second celebration, the spring festival, held on the Sunday closest to May 9th: a way to honor the Saint during the mild season and to welcome back the many emigrant devotees and faithful from neighboring towns.

The origins of the devotion

According to tradition, before the devastating flood of 1682, the patron saint of Tortorici was Saint Cataldo. The devotion to Saint Sebastian began with the miraculous discovery of the Saint's relics: two pilgrims traveling from Rome, carrying the relics and a bell, stopped miraculously near the Calagni stream, and from that moment, Saint Sebastian was proclaimed Patron of the city. For over three centuries, the people of Tortorici have paid him deep homage, culminating in the January rites and their spring replica in May.

The Nudi and the Vara

The hallmark of the festival is the Nudi: women and men, youths and children who, by vow, dress in white—shirt and trousers, with a triangular handkerchief folded at the waist—and walk the streets barefoot. At the end of the solemn mass, the statue of the Saint is placed on the artistic Vara and carried on the shoulders of eighteen Nudi through the town streets, in a procession that lasts several hours amidst songs, prayers, and the affection of the community.

The spring festival program

Celebrations begin on Saturday afternoon with the Concert for Saint Sebastian in the evocative Chiesa della Badia, an 18th-century building acquired by the Municipality and now a venue for numerous cultural and musical events, often featuring social gatherings and evenings in the square. Sunday, the day of the solemnity, is marked by morning masses and the Solemn Holy Mass at 11:00 AM at the Mother Church of Santa Maria Assunta. Around noon, the highly anticipated procession of the statue begins; in the late afternoon, the evocative Farewell Procession takes place along the main streets of the town, with women preceding the Vara and men carrying and following it, until the Saint returns to the Mother Church.

Traditions and atmosphere

• The Nudi: faithful dressed in white and barefoot, a symbol of Tortorici's devotion
• The Vara: an imposing processional structure that holds the Patron's statue
• The Concert for Saint Sebastian in the Chiesa della Badia, blending classical music and tradition
• The fair with stalls and street vendors enlivening the historic center

Included in the heritage of religious festivals of the Nebrodi, the spring festival of Saint Sebastian in Tortorici is a precious opportunity to discover the identity of this village in the province of Messina, Sicily, amidst popular spirituality, hospitality, and mountain landscapes.