• VICO DEL GARGANO
• SAN MARCO IN LAMIS
• MONTE SANT’ANGELO
• TROIA

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THE SACRED MOUNTAIN BETWEEN NATURE, FAITH AND HISTORY

From the green Gargano promontory, immense green limestone pebbles resting in the azure blue of the Adriatic Sea, crossing the wild landscape of the Umbra Forest, one admires the white villages like scattered pearls, dwellings of ancient sanctuaries and pilgrimage destinations.

From the most famous Micaelic cult site in the Latin West MONTE SANT'ANGELO (fg) to the choral chants of VICO DEL GARGANO (fg), we proceed to SAN MARCO IN LAMIS (fg) amidst the din of the 'fracchie' burning under the starry spring sky to conclude with the 'penitents' of TROIA (fg) in a setting where nature, religion and history merge.

Enjoy your trip!

The Sanctuary of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo (fg) and the Sanctuary of St Michael Archangel in Monte Sant'Angelo are fervent witnesses of the religious intimacy of this land.

And it is precisely from the most famous place of micaelico cult in the Latin West, MONTE SANT'ANGELO, that our journey begins. On the evening of Holy Thursday, the people of Monte Sant'Angelo visit the churches where the repositories, improperly called 'sepulchres', are set up, while the scent of fruit simmering in white wine with aromas reminiscent of the anointing agents used for the body of Christ wafts through the streets.

Good Friday begins in the church of St Benedict, with the 'Mattutino delle Tenebre', a centuries-old pre-conciliar service in Latin rooted in the monastic traditions of the Benedictine abbeys. At dusk, the very long Procession of the Dead Christ - with some statues of the Mysteries, accompanied by the confraternities with their characteristic hoods pulled down over their faces, the 'pappalùsce', the women dressed in black bearing the symbols of the Passion - and the procession of the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows from the church of San Benedetto start at the same time: the meeting with the Son takes place in an atmosphere of silence and emotion in the upper part of the town.

A few kilometres away is VICO DEL GARGANO, among the most beautiful villages in Italy, in a privileged position in the Montagna del Sole (ancient name for the Gargano), on a promontory between the sea, San Menaio, Calenella and the Umbra Forest.

Let yourself be intoxicated by the scents of citrus fruits or the exquisite 'paposcia' before immersing yourself in the strong spirituality. Vichese Holy Week is characterised by the musicality and the voices and songs of the confraternities, starting on the evening of Maundy Thursday with the 'uffizio delle tenebre' in the Chiesa Matrice, and continuing with the choral chants of the confraternities, which intone polyvocal verses of the Agony and the Miserere, during the procession of the five 'Madonnas' on Good Friday.

The festive air that one breathes in Vico is unique: in the peasant tradition, the death of Christ is experienced as a moment of joy because the Lord sacrificed himself 'to free us from our sins'.

In the evening, after 'the crazy Mass', the procession of the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows begins and ends on a symbolic Calvary, with a kermis of the chant 'Hurray for the Cross', shouted at the top of one's voice by the brethren, a liberating chant.

Then proceed to SAN MARCO IN LAMIS where Easter is lit by fire: the valley in which the town stands has been one of the 'gates' to the Gargano for millennia, travelled by pilgrims on their way to the grotto of San Michele and the sanctuary of San Matteo. On Good Friday, admire the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Dead Christ, where the 'fracchie', bundles of different sizes, drawn on carts pulled by the faithful, burn: the result is a scene from Dante's inferno under a starry spring sky.

Unique is Easter Sunday with the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows dressed in a festive tunic. It also delights the palate with traditional idols such as 'u canestredde' (a large doughnut woven like peasant baskets of leavened dough) and 'lu prupate' (bread spiced with cinnamon and cloves).

The city of TROIA is partly shrouded in legend: it is said that it was Diomedes who founded the ancient city. Iconic is the splendid Cathedral, considered one of the most fascinating buildings in southern Italy and among the oldest in Apulia. The marvellous journey begins on Palm Sunday with the performance of the Living Passion enlivened by thousands of participants, and continues on Good Friday with the Procession of the Chains: five penitents, dressed and hooded in white habits, carry a heavy cross on their shoulders, announcing their arrival with the sinister sound of chains tied to their bare feet dragged across the asphalt, and the dull, rhythmic beating of the trocchiola, along the entire penitential route.

By ancient tradition, penitents cannot suspend or interrupt the practice before five years in honour of the five wounds of Christ.

On Easter Sunday, the whole community gathers in the square to witness the 'kiss' between Our Lady of Sorrows and the risen Christ.