WTI Magazine #37    2014 July, 2
Author : folclore.it      Translation by:

When you think about Palermo, between the good things that come to mind you have the sea, the sun, the art, the food and Santa Rosalia, the beloved patron saint. "U festìnu" (the feast) dedicated to her represents the beating heart of this city of a thousand colors, with a very rich history: the traditional procession is the synthesis of the folklore, the traditions, the devotion of Palermo.

Rosalia lived at the court of King Roger, and retired as a hermit in a cave on Mount Pellegrino, where she died at the young age of 26 years, in the twelfth century.

Her cult exists from the end of the twelfth century, but her special bond with Palermo is due to a specific situation. In 1624 Palermo was severely hurt by the raging fever: the legend says that Rosalia appeared in a dream to a hunter, indicating where to find her remains on Monte Pellegrino.

Found and brought in solemn procession, she made the miracle to stop the epidemic; since then Rosalia is the patron Saint of the city that loves and honors her with devout heart.

Monte Pellegrino is still a place of worship and pilgrimage, where was erected in 1625 the sanctuary that encompasses the 25-meter deep cave in which Rosalia prayed and lived as a hermit.

The feast involves every year tens of thousands of people. The night between the 14th and 15th of July there is the long march of the "Carro della Santuzza" (Chariot of the Saint) crossing Corso Vittorio Emanuele to the marina, between the wings of a huge crowd.

At the end of the march takes place a fireworks show that lights up the whole town.