SS. Crocifisso Festival ('U Jornu du Signuri)

The 'Rain Crucifix', the soul of Giuliana

The SS. Crocifisso Festival, known to everyone by its dialect name 'u jornu du Signuri (the Day of the Lord), is the oldest and most deeply felt celebration in Giuliana, a charming village perched in the Sicani Mountains in the province of Palermo, Sicily. It has no fixed date: it falls every year on the first Friday after Easter, within the Easter Octave, making it a movable feast deeply intertwined with the liturgical calendar.

The miracle of 1579

The devotion has its roots in April 1579, when a severe drought plagued the territory of Giuliana. The population and clergy organized a penitential procession toward Caltabellotta to implore grace from that town's Crucifix; but upon reaching the Piscopo district, a few miles from Giuliana, an abundant and sudden rain put an end to the drought. The archpriest Cesare D'Anastasio then proclaimed that the grace had not come from Caltabellotta, but from their own sacred image. Since that day, the 16th-century wooden Crucifix of Giuliana, mounted on a cross inlaid with jasper and a silver sunburst, has been venerated as the "Rain Crucifix".

The legend of the fishermen of Sciacca

The festival is also linked to the tradition of the fishermen of Sciacca, who according to legend brought the statue to Giuliana and offered fish as a gift for the celebration every year. This gave rise to the custom of eating sardines and pasta with sardines on the day of the festival, a symbolic reference to the Gospel of Easter Friday, that of the miraculous catch.

Three days of faith and tradition

The festival is divided into three days packed with religious and popular events:

• The Eve with the famous tasting of roasted sardines in Piazza SS. Crocifisso, accompanied by music.
• The Day of the Lord with the dawn salute, the morning band parade through the town streets, holy masses, and in the evening, the two most emotional moments: the "scinnuta" (the descent of the statue from its chapel, greeted by shouted prayers and traditional songs) and the solemn procession of the Crucifix carried on shoulders through the village streets.
• The Festival Finale with a fireworks display and a grand evening concert in Piazza della Repubblica.

Amidst the squares of the historic center, enlivened by stalls selling almond sweets and typical Sicani products, the SS. Crocifisso Festival represents an essential identity-defining appointment for the community of Giuliana, capable of drawing back emigrants and visitors from neighboring towns.