SS. Crocifisso Festival

A festival that is the soul of a town

The SS. Crocifisso Festival is the main religious and popular celebration of Santa Margherita di Belice, a town in the Belice Valley in the province of Agrigento, in the heart of western Sicily. It traditionally takes place on the first Sunday of May, with a series of celebrations spread over several days, including sacred rites, processions, cultural events, and entertainment. It is the town's defining festival, capable of drawing back emigrants from all over the world each year, who return to the village to reconnect with their roots.

The venerated Crucifix

The heart of the devotion is an ancient wooden Crucifix, the object of deep veneration by the community. The effigy of the crucified Christ was taken to Agrigento on May 9, 1993, for the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Valley of the Temples, an episode that strengthened the town's bond with this sacred image. The simulacrum is kept in the Mother Church and, during the festival days, becomes the focal point of a collective sentiment that spans entire generations.

The rites and the procession

The most anticipated moment of the eve is the "Scinnuta di la Cruci": amidst chants and invocations, the Cross is lowered so that the faithful may kiss it, in a gesture of ancient and intense popular piety. On Sunday, the solemn procession of the wooden Christ takes place, placed on the imposing Vara Trionfale, which travels through the festively decorated streets of the town. The procession begins at dawn and concludes with spectacular fireworks upon its return to the church. The streets are filled with illuminations, and the balconies of the houses are adorned with embroidered sheets and blankets, displayed as a sign of faith and hospitality.

Between sacred and popular celebration

Alongside the religious rites, the festivities offer a rich calendar of side events including sports, music, culture, and entertainment: marching bands wandering through the town streets, concerts in the square, performances by historical groups, traditional games, and moments dedicated to families and the youth. It is the perfect synthesis of a Sicilian festival, where the spiritual and the convivial dimensions coexist seamlessly.

Santa Margherita, the village of The Leopard

The festival is also an opportunity to discover Santa Margherita di Belice, a town linked to the memory of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, who spent his childhood summers there: the village inspired the "Donnafugata" of the famous novel The Leopard. Rebuilt after the terrible 1968 Belice earthquake, the town still preserves the strength of a community that rediscovers its most authentic identity every year during the SS. Crocifisso Festival.