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Conversano, like other cities of the Puglia, is characterized from the rituals of the Holy Week that have their apex in the days of the thursday and the Saint friday.The first appointment is represented from the “Way Crucis”, than like from tradition, all are carried out in the various parishes of the city the fridays of Lent, in particolar way the way crucis that it comes celebrated in the first afternoon hours in the church of Saint Maria of the Island where comes conserved the Christ Nero.
The previous friday Sunday of the Palms, this Way Crucis is carried out in the various quarters of the city, is organized from the parishes and characterized from the fact that is kept in the serali hours, Conversano in this way is prepared for those that are the rituals of the Saint week, rich rituals of suggestion and tradition.
Sunday of the Palms:
In this festive day, in which the entrance of Jesus to Gerusalemme is remembered, the many children who crowd the roads in order to sell the “palms” from manifactured they; all the parishes celebrate S. Putting of the Palms; of remarkable importance S. Putting that is carried out in Cathedral Basilica, presided from Bishop Diocesano Mons. Padovano.
The tradition wants that people buy the blessed palms during the celebrations and the ports to the cemetary near the own extinct beloveds.
Saint tuesday:
This day is from some decades dedicated to the “Living Passion”, manifestation in which they come told the last hours of life of Christ, from the Last Supper to the Crocifissione.
The rappresentazione has as scene the wonderful ends of the city of Conversano, the roads are illuminated from fiammelle and the entire city center is wrapped from a mystical air.
Saint thursday:
This day is characterized from two imports religious events to you:
- the first one that is carried out in morning, in Cathedral Basilica, called “Saint Messa Crismale” (function of the Saint oil), to which all the clergymen of the Diocese participate;
- the second is carried out in the serali hours, when last supper “S is celebrated. Putting in Coena Dominions ", and places the Pisside in the sepolcro for the adoration of the faithfuls (the Pisside is a liturgico object used in order to conserve wafers consecrated after the Eucaristica Celebration).
All the churches of Conversano come crowded from faithfuls who visit, in all the evening of the thursday, until late night, the “Sepocri”; the citizens after to have gone around “of the Sepolcri”, they head near the monastero of Saint Maria of the Island, where the ancient one crocifisso of the Christ Nero comes exposed to the cult of the conversanesi, which, often on foot, catch up the monastico complex in order to kiss the foot of the sacred one effige.
Near the Calvary, celebrativa construction made to build up to Conversano in Via Golgota to Saint work of the architect Simone at the beginnig of 1900, along the road that door to the cemetary, round gathers various families to a great Bonfire and the statue of the Given pain Vergine, in order to wait for until the first lights of the dawn the day of the Saint Friday.
Saint friday:
To the first lights of the dawn (around to hours 04,00) the Christ Nero it comes carried in processione from the Monastero di S. M. of the Island in order to cover the roads of Conversano, and in order to arrive around to hours 10,00 in public square Conciliation where the Bishop, from the balcony of the Palace of the Episcopio, will bless the population with the statue of the Christ. This processione has a particularitity the statue of the firm Christ in various points of the city, supported on pillows is decorated to you from ghirlande of flowers, for being kissed from the conversanesi.The tradition wants that the Christ always arrives before the statue of the Given pain Vergine, which begins from the Church of the Carmine, in late morning, its distressing one peregrinare for the roads of Conversano to the “search” of the Son. The processione opens with the cross with one crown of thorns, to follow the women with votive candles and confratelli of the Church of the Carmine with the bringing cross the all symbols of the Passion of Christ, at last the band that intona marce funeral and the sinfonia of the “Trovatore” of Giuseppe Verdi.
In the afternoon of the friday, then, the more evocative moment of the paschal rituals with the processione of the statues of the “Mysteries”, that they represent Passion and died of Christ and a second statue of the Given pain Vergine, venerata in the church of the Purgatorio.
To Conversano, like in the greater part of the countries of the Puglia, the processione of the “Mysteries” go back to the times of the Middle Ages; originally they were carried out inside of the monasteri and the places of cult.
Subsequently around to 1600, the external manifestations of the Passion of Christ begin; in particolar way, to Conversano, in 1655, two clergymen, don of Ambrosia and don Quagliarella, made to build up the church of the Passion, with the attempt to stimulate the faithfuls to the Paschal Mystery.
In this church, therefore, we find again the sacred ones effigi of the “Mysteries” that, in the afternoon hours late of the Saint friday, are capacities processionalmente along the ways of the city, with a rhythm marked the rhythm from the marce funeral and from the songs of the Miserere.
Processione that, as it wants the tradition, is left over to slow step between two wings of crowd that is marked, boasts, inginnocchia, prays, admires the bearers of statues and the confratelli with waxes in vary figuring, the young bearers of “lampari” and “triumphs” (floreali compositions) and, above all, people admire the boys who, like from tradition, carry the “staples” on which they rest the sacred images during the many pauses of the long “enitential march”, sluice from the Sacred Wood with the reliquia of the Saint Cross of the Christ, capacity from the Bishop with with the maximum representatives of the Cathedral Understood one it. The statues that are conserved in the church of the Passion are of ancient invoice, to ognuna of it correspond one “congrega” in order to the confraternita one of belongings; the simulacri they are eleven, all in cartapesta with details in terracotta and of leccese school,
except the Given pain one, that moreover in the processione of the Friday it comes replaced from that one of the Arciconfraternita of the Purgatorio.Of they, some are ancient and going back to XVIII the century, as the “Calvary” and “Dead Jesus” (“Cataletto”) pertaining to the church of the Passion, let alone the group of the “Maddalene”, of property of the Common one. most recent, instead, some personages of the life of Christ are the representing images - Saint Peter, Saint Giovanni and the Veronica - donated in the early 1900s from the confraternite ones of Saint Rocco and Announced (the both extinguished ones) and from the Bishop mons. Antonio Lamberti (Ordinary Diocesano from 1897 to 1917).