This post covers our Easter Sunday in Ruvo di Puglia.
On Sundays the Bari Metro trains do not go all the way to Ruvo so we had to switch to a Metro bus in Bitonto. The train coach in was brand new; had that new coach car smell.
The Ruvo di Puglia Easter Sunday procession gets started at 9:30 and does a quick, 1.5 hour circuit around town, stopping at the Town Hall, and ending at St Domenico's. On the way, 3 quarantana (dolls that look like witches) that have been strung up on a wire all Lent, are blown to bits. Let's get right to the action with the destruction of the first quarantana.
And here's the link for folks who get the email version.
Priests, lay people, civic leaders and employees, all participate in the procession.
The wide streets and sidewalks of Ruvo are prefect for a procession.
The second quarantana, before, during, and after.
There was a good crowd in the piazza in front of the Town Hall to watch Quarantana #2 get blown to bits.
A town offical gave a long speech.
The quarantana gets blown up only after the procession goes by.
Then we all walked down to St Domenico's, where after an hour long outdoor church service, and balloon launch, the 3rd quarantana bit the dust.
3 comments:
Holy bat guano, Robin! It sure doesn't pay to be a quarantana in Ruvo di Puglia and thanks for the video. The second q'a looks very lifelike, strung up there on the wire. I don't recall witches playing any part in any Easter story I've been told.
The train coach is beautiful. Here in Raleigh, we struggle to get an oxcart from the city to RDU. No one here knows what a new coach smells like.
I was there yesterday and saw her hanging and researched her, she is NOT a witch. They call her a 'Quarantana' ('Quaranta' means 40 in Italian, and Lent is called 'Quaresima'---referring to Lent lasting 40 days). Apparently she's Carnevale's widow...they have a 'funeral' for Carnevale (represented as a fat man) on Ash Wednesday and the black-clad Widow (symbol of Lenten deprivation) gets hung up, carrying a spindle of thread (to represent the brevity of life), a fish (as traditionally no eating meat during Lent) and a piece of fruit (representing the coming spring) with feathers stuck in it (6 black ones for each week of Lent and one white one for Easter; one black feather gets plucked out each week). Now for the best part: they blow up the Quarantana when Lent ends on the Easter vigil! We will be returning on Easter Sunday for the festivities and to have out Easter dinner in Ruvo. Great pictures and video!
Nancy, Thanks for the informative comment! It all make sense now. Sorry for the delay in posting - we are busy enjoying Easter in Portugal this year.
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