Panarea: Saint Pietro Celebration
The whole world knows and recognizes the figures of Saint Pietro and Paolo, the apostles of Jesus Christ, the apostles of people who evangelized Jews and Greeks, and brought the message of Christ throughout the world. They died as martyrs in Rome under the emperor Nerone , on June 29. The whole world, with great devotion and faith respects and remembers them praying. Panarea, the wonderful island of the Aeolian archipelago, celebrates S. Pietro, the patron saint of the island, in a particularly devotee way. The Saint’s statue is brought over the shoulder of devotees along the principal streets of the island; the procession is accompanied by the band with intervals for a pray. The characteristic of this procession, which makes it fascinating and suggestive, is the moment when the statue is collocated over the boat , and goes over the sea. A suggestive procession of the patron saint who protects the island from the earth and the sea, who blesses the devotees from the streets to the sea, the soil and waters blessed by a natural richness and beauty. The procession via sea remembers the inhabitants’ passion for fishing, the primary source of work, as if it were a natural vocation for those born in these wonderful places. In this way we understand a strong devotion of the inhabitants of Panarea for S. Pietro, a fisherman during his life before having met Jesus, the fisher of men after having met the son of God. The celebration goes on for two days: on June 28 and 29. The procession, generally (obviously all depends on the annual organisation of the event), is organized at the end of celebration, on June 29. The day of the celebration’s eve is full of events which prepare to the climate of celebrations: folkloristic groups, dances, songs, typical products, and stalls are useful to recreate a picturesque and delicious picture which catch attention and curiosity of many tourists, and awake the faith of the island’s inhabitants, who thanks to these events show the beauty of their history, and the value of autochthonous traditions and culture. Even during the day of procession there are moments of art and entertainment; during the celebration’s closing there are spectacular fireworks upon the sea, considered as the real protagonists of the day.
