Procida at Easter is a destination not to be missed: between parties, celebrations, walks to discover its typical architecture, wandering in search of breathtaking views, places where you can taste the excellent food and wine tradition and points where its luxuriant nature blossoms like a flower in spring, it's impossible to get bored! A precious piece of land, Procida, which has been able to keep its treasures, accompanying those who visit it in a unique dimension that has always fascinated poets, writers, artists and directors who have shot highly successful films here.
During Holy Week, from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Good Friday, the most beautiful and important processions take place: absolutely not to be missed due to the great charm that characterizes them, so much so that they are considered the most spectacular and intense in the whole Mediterranean .
On Holy Saturday, Easter day and Easter Monday, however, you can dedicate yourself to discovering Procida, visiting its most beautiful places, all very close to each other considering the small size of the island.
Going up from the Marina Grande up a small road immediately behind the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà you arrive at the highest point of the island, as well as the oldest. From here it is possible to enjoy unique panoramas of the Gulf of Naples and the surrounding area and admire places full of suggestion such as the Palazzo d'Avalos with the former Bourbon prison (a location much loved by great directors who shot many famous films here), the Museo Casa di Graziella (muse and beloved of the poet Lamartine) and the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo.
And Terra Murata and this splendid Abbey are the fulcrum of the celebrations of Holy Easter on the island every year, organized for more than five hundred years by the two island brotherhoods: the Congrega dei Bianchi and the Congrega dei Turchini.
The traditional celebrations culminate between the evening of Holy Thursday and the evening of Good Friday, giving rise to a series of processions unique in terms of atmosphere and intensity.
It all begins on the evening of Holy Thursday with a series of ceremonies organized by the Confraternita dei Bianchi, such as the Washing of the Feet and the Last Supper, followed by a suggestive procession of the Hooded Apostles through the dark streets of Procida, lit only by candles, with stops in some of the most important churches on the island
On Good Friday, at 5 in the morning, the Confraternita dei Turchini takes the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows from their usual location, the Church of San Tommaso d'Aquino, to the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo in Terra Murata.
From here the Procession of the Mysteries starts, magnificent floats of various sizes that represent scenes from the Bible, carried by hand up to the Marina Grande by children, teenagers and adults who in the previous months made them with passion and sacrifice. There are three associations that are dedicated almost all year round to designing and building them: "L'isola dei Misteri", "I Ragazzi dei Misteri" and "Venerdì Santo". In the afternoon the statues of Our Lady of Sorrows and of the Dead Christ, together with the mysteries, are brought back, with great effort, which expresses a feeling of immense devotion, up to Terra Murata where most of the latter, after the Easter days, will be destroyed.
The most beautiful, however, will become part of a permanent museum, interesting to visit: it is located near the cannon viewpoint before the entrance to Terra Murata, and is dedicated precisely to these works of art created with all types of materials, from glass to wood, from paper mache to iron and plastic.
On the evening of Good Friday, with a last touching torchlight procession in the dark, the Via Crucis is represented and the statue of the Dead Christ is brought back from the Abbey of Terra Murata to its headquarters, the Congrega dei Turchini in the Church of San Tommaso d'Aquino .
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