Easter in Sorrento

Two very special Easter Processions in Sorrento

Easter in Sorrento is a bizarre mix of religious celebrations and holiday happiness. Hundreds of Sorrentines take part in two very special Easter parades. The first of these, the Processione Bianca, takes place during the night of the Thursday before Easter and begins at 3:00 in the morning.

The streets are deserted, but the road is lined with flickering lamps and ghostly figures can be seen gliding through the side streets. All the churches on the road are open and earlier that day their altars have been decorated for a “walk around the tombs”.

Olive branches are often featured in these decorations, as they are used for Palm Sunday celebrations instead of palms.

A band accompanies this first procession and the sound of calm, heartbreaking music precedes the sight of cloaked and hooded white figures, each carrying a flaming torch, lighting up the streets. This is a procession of hope and the brothers carry an image of the Virgin Mary who is searching for her son Jesus.

The entire procession stops in front of each church on its route and Mary is carried inside to see if her son is there. Outside the churches, other hooded figures wait in silence, no one thinks of breaking ranks and not a single word is spoken – just a street full of white-clad figures waiting and hoping.

The whole experience is surreal and the next morning, walking through the crowded streets of Sorrento, you will wonder if it really happened or if you dreamed it. Throughout the day, crowds will pour into the city and traffic will probably be banned in the center as the city fills up. The main attraction on this day, Good Friday, is the second procession, the much darker Black Procession or Procession of Death.

The crowds begin to line the route several hours before it begins and spectators will climb the walls to find good vantage points. It is impossible to follow this procession through the streets unless you walk behind it when the departing spectators give way to move.

Some people feel that this second procession borders on the macabre and certainly the effigy of Jesus rising high is disturbingly lifelike with the cruel thorns of the crown piercing his head. He is accompanied by a grieving Virgin Mary. All hope is lost when she finds her son dead.

The accompanying music is mournful music accompanied by the clanging and singing of the Miserere. All the participants are dressed in black and many wear hoods but not all. It is a huge funeral procession watched by thousands of spectators – a memorable event.

The roots of these processions probably date back to the 1500s when they were very simple and the brothers of the monastic order (the confraternity) responsible for organizing them would walk through the streets on the plain with lit lamps, singing psalms and carrying a bare wooden cross.

Probably around 1700 under the rule of the Spanish viceroyalty the processions were influenced by the Jesuit priests who introduced the tradition of carrying symbols and norms of the Confraternity, particularly in the Black Procession. By 1806 the number of brothers and friars in the local convents had significantly decreased, so the King of Naples “invited” other Sorrentines to participate in the procession. This invitation is still repeated today and many local people, especially the young,

There is much to explore in Sorrento during the day between the two processions. A good start is the terrace next to the Church of San Francesco overlooking the Gulf of Naples. Across the gulf we can see Naples and Mount Vesuvius looming over the city.

Nearby is the Piazza S. Antonino, home to the Basilica of S. Antonino. A basilica is a church dedicated to a particular saint, in this case it is Sant’Antonino. Most statues of this saint show him standing on a sea creature as the most famous legend of him is when he was on the beach at Sorrento and saved a child who had been swallowed by a whale. There are two whale bones in the church that are said to have come from this creature. He is also reputed to be the patron saint of rescues and the church is decorated with gifts from sailors who survived shipwrecks.

Near the basilica is the Teatro Tasso, whose regular programme features an evening of traditional dances and songs. On the opposite side of Piazza Tasso is a beautiful palace, built in the 14th century in Catalan style. It was transformed with the addition of an Esedra Maiolicata (majolica courtyard) during the 18th century and now houses the Ruoppo florist and often hosts exhibitions to allow visitors to enter the building to admire the courtyard.

As Good Friday is not a public holiday, all the shops are open and the original souvenirs of Sorrento are decorated with lemons. The ‘Lemon’ shops are packed with every product that can be made using lemons or lemon flavouring and the shelves are filled with assorted bottles of liqueurs, packets of biscuits, boxes of chocolates, jars of jam, soaps and cosmetics.

Lemons grow very easily along the coast of this region, Campania, and there are many documents and frescoes that record the cultivation of the typical oval Sorrento lemon from the end of the first century. The Jesuit fathers were the first to use the characteristic terraces to grow lemons in Sorrento during the 16th century, when lemons were exported here from South America and extensive citrus groves were planted.

The lemon trees are protected from the salty winds and the north winds by pergolas made of straw mats. These pergolas slow the growth of the fruit resulting in their unique yellow hue. They are used to produce Limoncello, a lemon liqueur that is produced in this region. Only the lemons picked in the morning are used for the simple and traditional ancient recipe that uses the fresh peel soaked in alcohol. It is served ice cold and makes a great after-dinner drink. A creamy variation of this drink is made with the addition of milk and cream.

Easter Sunday is the day to go out. It is considered the beginning of spring and a time when everyone goes out and at the top of the list is lunch in Sorrento followed by some shopping. In the local hotels the day will start with a festive Easter breakfast, a splendid buffet with special Easter sandwiches and a savory cake made from whole eggs: Casatiello. The centerpiece of such a buffet is often a huge chocolate Easter egg decorated with sugar flowers.

Easter lunch in Sorrento is also an elaborate affair. For many Italians lunch is still the main meal of the day and everything stops at midday when families meet to enjoy this pleasant walk.

The meal often begins with an antipasto, eaten before the main meal. There are numerous regional varieties of this course from cold vegetables dressed with olive oil, slices of cheese, raw ham, other meats and sometimes hot dishes such as fried vegetables and fish and sometimes a mixture of these, an antipasto misto is served. The primo piatto comes next and includes a small dish of pasta or risotto or soup.

The secondo is a small portion of meat or fish with lightly cooked vegetables or a salad. Cheese, which is always eaten with bread and fresh fruit, is served at the end of the meal and finally an espresso (small strong black coffee). Mineral water and wine accompany this meal and bread is consumed throughout. Italian meals are balanced, a light course will be followed by a heavy course or vice versa and delicate flavors are never preceded by strong flavors that would overwhelm them. In Italy eating is truly an art.

After a break to digest this great meal it is time to “stroll” and browse the local shops. Sorrento is famous for its inlay art and the streets are lined with specialist shops filled with beautiful examples of this craft.

This inlay technique originated in Siena during the 11th century when it was used to decorate furniture and church panels. The Romans were the first to use veneers of the most attractive woods to cover the plainer varieties – an economically inspired technique that made a tree grow.

Today the town of Sorrento is the centre of a thriving inlay industry and since the early 19th century its highly skilled professionals have been creating a wide range of inlaid and marquetry work.