Festivals and religious rites of Easter in Puglia – The complete calendar

The main events taking place during the Holy Week in Puglia

Are you planning to visit Puglia during the spring months? Are you also wondering what events to see in Puglia in the spring? Terra che vive advises you to live the holy week in Puglia and to see with your own eyes three events in three characteristic places:

• Martina Franca: tour of the Sepulchres;
• Taranto: the Perdoni;
• Alberobello: the via Crucis.

Puglia is a land full of places to visit, each with its own history, its ancient traditions and its typical events. It is therefore a region that can be visited at any time of year, even if it is a destination for large tourist flows, especially during the summer. The crystalline sea and the numerous beaches that make up its long coastline are an irresistible attraction. But in Puglia there is so much more and Terra che vive wants to let you discover these less beaten paths.

The Holy Week in Puglia: faith and folklore

Holy Week begins on Palm Sundayand ends the previous Saturday on Easter Sunday. It is a period of great religious fervor for all the faithful and believers, in which events with a great popular participation follow each other. Folklore, religion, customs and characteristic places merge giving experiences of great emotional impact.

During Palm Sunday it’s celebrated the arrival of ‘Jesus’ in Jerusalem. In the three days that follow (ie, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) it is instead remembered the betrayal that occurred at the hands of Judas who, through a kiss, signaled it to the High Priests to have him arrested. The Holy Thursdayis the day that ends and which begins three fundamental events for all Christians (so-called Triduo Pasquale)

• passion
• death
• resurrection of the Lord.

Three important events, like three, are the steps that we suggest you to do during your stay in Puglia during the Holy Week.

1. Martina Franca: tour of the sepulchers

Holy Thursday is a tradition of Martina Franca, famous for its Baroque style, making the “tour dei Sepolcri” or visit the churches of the city. The altars that guard the Eucharist (sayings of the Reposition) are decorated for the occasion by the city’s brotherhoods with lights, flowers and draperies. The various productions give life to a virtuous race at the most beautiful and characteristic Sepulcher. A real pleasure for the eyes of visitors and the many faithful who stop at the various churches of the beautiful Martina Franca.

You can visit:

• the basilica of San Martino;
• the church of Sant’Antonio dei Cappuccini;
• the church of San Domenico;
• the church of the Holy Family;
• the church of Carmine.

An opportunity not only of faith but also a way to know the streets of the old town of Martina Franca and its sumptuous palaces in rococo style.

2. Taranto: the Perdoni

I Perdoni of Taranto are one of the most typical and spectacular events that can be seen in Puglia during the Holy Week. It is a real pilgrimage which begins the afternoon of Holy Thursday and ends at the sunset of the following day. The journey is carried out by a long procession of brothers who in pairs, bare feet and hooded make a stop near the sepulchers located along the city route.
The Perdoni is an event of faith that lasts several hours because the progress of the penitents is slow and cadenced, a real swing.

The participants in the ceremony are part of the Brotherhood of Carmelite and begin their journey from the Church of Mary Holy of Mount Carmel.
In addition to the slow pace, the procession is characterized by the presence of statues carried on the shoulders by the penitents. The most prestigious is considered the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows for which the different city confraternities compete against each other during the auction for the award.
The offers are then used for charity works or for the maintenance of churches and vestments used during the Perdoni of Taranto.

3 Alberobello: the via Crucis

For the alleys of the beautiful Alberobello, famous for its its trulli to the point of having been recognized Unesco site, on the evening of Friday it is possible to admire the Via Crucis. Lights, dialogues, music, scenery and costumes are designed to give viewers the feeling (we add also the emotion) of being along the original route, through atrocious suffering, from Christ before being crucified on Golgotha.

An important Catholic rite that takes place during the Holy Week in a setting full of charm and tradition, between the alleys and characteristic trulli of Alberobello. An opportunity to experience an event of great emotional impact and to visit one of the pearls of Puglia.

Puglia and its many faces: discover them with us

Puglia during the Holy Week offers important religious events and the opportunity to visit its most beautiful villages.
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