| Feste, Sagre e
Tradizioni.
There are numerous feasts which take place in the village borne
of love for the past and religious feeling. Here faith and tradition
merge in moments of prayerful recollection, with feasting in traditional
costumes, dances and popular songs.
The first summer festival of the year is Our Lady of the
Shipwrecked, doubtless one of the most fascinating moments
for inhabitants of the village and tourists staying in the area.
The feast, celebrated for the sailors, victims along with their
ships around Cape Carbonara, begins on the third Saturday of July:
in the afternoon the statue of the virgin, which usually stands
in the square outside the church, is accompanied in procession,
on an ox-drawn, richly adorned cart , as far as the piazza at
the port, where Mass is celebrated. In the evening, celebrations
continue, accompanied by folk events and the tasting of fish,
wine and traditional local products.
The following morning, a procession of ships adorned with flowers
heads towards Cavoli Island, where, since 1979,
the statue of the Virgin has been deposited on the seabed to protect
sailors. The priest, with a squad of divers, enters the water
to a depth of 10 metres, where at the feet of the Madonna, he
recites the ritual prayer. This is heard through loudspeakers
by the faithful in the sea and in the ships, who, as a sign of
greeting, sound sirens and throw brightly coloured crowns of flowers
into the water. When everyone has returned to the port in an orderly
fashion, the feast concludes in the evening with a musical offering,
entertainment and spectacular fireworks in the magnificent setting
of the port and of the old fortress.
Another important popular feast, and perhaps the dearest to the
villagers, is the festival of Santa Maria, celebrated
between the seventh and eighth is of September. From the Carbonara
days, the statue of the Madonna has been taken in procession on
the first day from the village church to the chapel of Santa Maria,
as a prayer to receive abundant rain, necessary in ancient times
to avoid the danger of drought in the pastures and cultivated
land.
The following day, the feast itself, the statue of the Virgin
returns to the village, in solemn procession, the cortege formed
of traditional ox-drawn carts (“is traccas”, decorated
with carpets, brightly coloured flowers and other objects, ranging
from the extremely expensive to mundane, everyday farming tools),
men on horseback in Sardinian costume, folk groups from nearby
villages and “launeddas” players (ancient musical
wind instruments, typical of the Sarrabus and the Campidano regions
of Sardinia). Once it reaches the parish square the procession
stops, waiting for the fireworks to start, a sign that the religious
festival has finished. Celebrations continue for around a week
with folk events (dances, singing and Sardinian language poetry
competitions) and other shows, from complex pop/rock concerts
to Latin-American music and dancing.
 During
feasts and throughout the summer season especially, a number of
different events are staged, among which a sweets and cakes exhibition,
craft fair and the gastronomy challenge with tasting of a variety
of traditional Sardinian products.
|
