Reid & Robie

Easter is a time for dressing up, looking your best and hunting for candy. It’s Halloween in reverse.

– Melanie White

The season kicked off with a couple of kids sporting costumes on a Sunday afternoon in early February.

Sitting at a table outside Gran Caffe del Duomo in the heart of Syracuse, Robie and I watched a girl with bunny ears, a cotton nose and drawn on whiskers chase a young Superman around the piazza. They were followed by a youthful Batman, a mini Mario with fake mustache and baby-faced Luigi. Bringing up the rear was another, smaller version of Superman gamely trying to keep up despite the blue bodysuit that was too big for his short, stubby legs.

The following weekend the parade of boisterous children playing in the square included a little girl dressed like a cat, more superheroes and several princesses brandishing wands, tiaras and wings. As we sat at the outdoor café enjoying the warm, winter sunshine, Robie wondered, “Do you suppose every weekend is Halloween in Italy?”

A few days later, we took a train to Acireale to enjoy the town’s famed Carnevale. Once there, we discovered that costumes weren’t just for kids.

CARNEVALE

A suburb of Catania, Acireale is home to the oldest, most elaborate Carnival festival in Sicily. For two weeks leading up to Martedi Grasso (also known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or, weirdly, Pancake Day in the UK, Ireland and Australia), people don disguises and throw off inhibitions in anticipation of the long weeks of fasting, prayer and penance to come during Lent. These costumes, an integral part of the celebration since the Middle Ages, let revelers break societal norms, mock those in power and blur traditional boundaries.

During this year’s celebrations, it showered confetti as well as rain but nothing could dampen the festive mood of the occasion. Watching the revelers, Robie and I found another prime spot at an outdoor café and spent the afternoon admiring the Zorro outfits, Minions, Saturday Night Live‘s Killer Bees, Minnie Mouse, Spanish damas, a pair of T-Rexes and the Big Bad Wolf dressed as grandma.  

Across the globe Carnival has adapted to regional customs with samba schools in Brazil, feathered masks in Venice, purple beads in New Orleans and steelpan drums in the Caribbean. In Acireale, what began as a floral parade in the 19^th century has morphed into allegorical papier-mâché floats from local artists who work all year to build these elaborate creations.

The colorful floats plying Acireale’s narrow streets weren’t stagnant. They included choreographed music, bright, twinkling lights and sophisticated mechanics to animate characters and allow the floats to expand.

PALM SUNDAY

During Lent Robie and I moved across the island leaving Sicily’s east coast for the northwest shore.

In the capital, Palermo’s Easter festivities began on Palm Sunday as a small, somber procession paraded down the street beneath our balcony.

GOOD FRIDAY

Come Good Friday, the celebrations evolved into more elaborate demonstrations.

Setting out in the afternoon, Robie and I positioned ourselves at a small outdoor table on Via Maqueda across the pedestrian-only street from the Church of Santa Ninfa dei Crociferi. With our front row seats, we caught the action as Roman centurions led Pontius Pilate to oversee the execution at Calvary.

Returning, the Romans carried an effigy of Christ’s shrouded body. Before long, the parade re-emerged at the wide church entry with Jesus inside a heavy glass coffin encased in gold followed by a tearful Virgin Mary.

The solemn parade continued long into the night, echoed across the city by Palermo’s many churches, a tradition of emotional imagery that for centuries related the story of Christ to illiterate masses.

EASTER

In Palermo, Easter Vigil began late Saturday and ended with the lighting of the Easter candle at midnight. Then like our introduction to Carnevale in Syracuse, the season came to a close with children in the streets.

Outside our Palermo apartment Easter Monday, Robie and I watched a group of neighbor kids raiding a trash bin. Picking out a couple of sticks, palm fronds and fruit boxes, the girls added string and placed the boxes around their necks to make marching drums. An older boy kept time with his “baton” as two younger ones made an improvised platform that they hoisted onto their shoulders. To complete the procession, the kids added a small crucifix to the altar and paraded it down the street.

From Carnevale to Easter, spring is a wonderful time to experience Sicily.