Alfio Cirino and Filadelfo: a month of feasts
Pilgrims from all over the province for Alfio Cirino and Filadelfo in Trecastagni
In May Trecastagni, a village close to Catania on the slopes of Etna, celebrates the feast of the three Saints Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfo. The cult for these Saints has very ancient origins and today attracts the faithful, but also curious, from all over the province.
Holiday in Trecastagni from the 1st to the 17th May
The feast of the three Martyrs is exactly on the 10th May but it already begins on the first Sunday of the same month and is announced with 21 cannon shots fired from Forte Mulino a Vento. On the afternoon of the 9th May there is a fireworks show, a competition between the three parties of the festival. During the night of the eve, felt as a “holy night” by the devotees, it is not difficult to meet many pilgrims who make the “journey” of devotion to the places of worship: they are the “nuri” (naked) devotees often barefoot who climb to the Sanctuary of Trecastagni carrying a heavy votive candle to offer to the Saints. Along the way there are votive shrines that besides allowing devotees to stop for a moment of prayer, allow them to take a break before getting back on the road.
During the feast you can attend the parade of Sicilian carts. On the 17th May, the day of the “ottava” ( eight days after the main feast) the festivities end but you can see the statues of the three Saints until the first Sunday in June.
S. Alfio, S. Cirino and S. Filadelfo devotees into the church the church in Trecastagni Sicilian cart
The three brothers are also venerated in other Italian cities, including the Sicilian Lentini of which Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfo are patrons. And there are also many legends related to their lives, among which we report the one related to the earthquake. It is said that, in the occasion of the remembrance of the translation of the relics of the three Saints (2nd September) the statues were moved and taken out of the church: at the same time a strong earthquake struck Lentini, the statues were immediately brought back into the church and the earthquake stopped. Since then they have not been moved.
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