Cagliari, during Holy Week, is the natural setting for events of intense religious significance. The celebrations begin on the Friday before Palm Sunday, when the solemn Procession of the Mysteries unfolds, organized by the Archconfraternity of the Crucifix.

It starts from Piazza San Giacomo, where the Oratory of the Holy Crucifix is located, which houses the seven statues of the Mysteries, dating back to the 18th century, by the sculptor Giuseppe Antonio Lonis and workshop. The statues are transported to seven different Cagliari churches.

On Good Friday, the Brotherhood of Solitude, which is based in the Oratory of Purgative Souls in Piazza San Giacomo, organizes the Dead Christ procession, which accompanies the simulacra of Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows in the cathedral of Cagliari. Finally, the celebrations close on Easter morning, during which S'Incontru (the Meeting) takes place: two processions unfold from two different points, which then meet, symbolizing the encounter between the Risen Christ and the Madonna, depicted by their respective simulacra.

The Holy Week celebrations in Cagliari

In Cagliari, a city that overlooks the Golfo degli Angeli and develops around the hill of Castello, the celebrations for Holy Week take place along the streets of the historic center, through the ancient districts of Marina, Villanova and Stampace.

In Sardinia, the traditional festival of Easter, Pasca Manna, is a particularly heartfelt religious event and is divided into a series of rites, processions and choral moments that, reviving the most significant moments of the Passion of Christ, deeply involve faithful and tourists for the strong emotions they manage to arouse.

Cagliari's Holy Week keeps the tradition alive and reveals a strong Spanish influence.

The Brotherhoods involved in the rites of the Week of Passion in Cagliari are the Archconfraternity of Solitude, the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Crucified and the Archconfraternity of Gonfalone under the aegis of Sant'Efisio Martire.

In the capital of the island, Easter celebrations begin on the Friday before Palm Sunday, when the Procession of the Mysteries (Is Misterius) takes place, organized by the Archconfraternity of the Holy Crucified, which is based in the homonymous Oratory located in Piazza San Giacomo. The institution of the Brotherhood dates back to the middle of the 16th century, when it was based in the Chapel of the Crucifix located inside the church of San Giacomo. A notarial act testifies that in 1616 it became an Archconfraternity joining that of San Marcello in Rome.

Starting from the Oratory of the Holy Crucifix, the members of the Archconfraternity carry in procession the seven sculptural groups popularly called Saints/Sacred Mysteries (wooden statues from about 1750, the work of the sculptor Giuseppe Antonio Lonis di Senorbì, whose workshop was located in the ancient Cagliari district of Stampace). The simulacra each visit one of the seven churches in the historic center, symbol of the seven stations of the Way of the Cross. In the background, a four-voice choral song handed down orally. These songs, performed with a polyphonic singing technique defined as falsobordone, represent the dialogue between the community and God.

On Holy Tuesday, the Stampace Mysteries procession takes place (a tradition interrupted forty-two years ago and resumed two years ago), organized by the Cuccurus Cottus association and the Compagnia degli Artieri. These simulacra are also the work of Lonis and are carried in procession starting from the church of San Michele in Via Azuni, stopping in seven churches, including the Cathedral.

On Holy Wednesday, the sisters of the Most Holy Crucifix mourn the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, while on Holy Thursday they nail the simulacrum of Christ (the Crucifixion) to the cross. These rites are followed by the adoration of Christ, while women bring to church is nènneris, wheat sprouted in a pot full of soil and shakes in the dark, so that it takes on a pale green color, a symbol of the resurrection of Christ in the darkness of the tomb.

The same ceremony also takes place in the church of San Giovanni, home of the Archconfraternity of Solitude.

From the church of Sant'Efisio, headquarters of the Gonfalone Brotherhood in the Stampace district, the procession of the Seven Churches begins in which the statue of Sant'Efisio, with the helmet decorated with a black plume as a sign of mourning, enters the seven religious buildings.

On Good Friday, the central event of the celebrations takes place, the procession of the statue of the Crucified Jesus, surmounted by a canopy, from the church of San Giovanni to the Cathedral.

Christ is also accompanied in procession by the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, with her chest pierced by the sword of the Seven Sorrows, accompanied by two children who impersonate Saint John and Mary Magdalene. The procession is opened by two 18th century banners with the symbols of passion: the rooster, the nails, the sword, as well as the cloak and the dice of the Roman soldiers. The procession follows a precise ritual, with drumrolls and traditional songs in the background, until the moment you reach the Cathedral and the Crucifix is handed over to the sacristan, while the Virgin is brought back to the church of San Giovanni. The procession is curated by the Archconfraternity of Solitude. This, established in 1603 as a Brotherhood, became Archconfraternity in 1616 when it joined the Archconfraternity of the Holy Trinity in Rome.

Also on Good Friday, two other processions take place: the first, organized by the Archconfraternity of the Crucified, starts from the homonymous Oratory located in Piazza di San Giacomo and arrives at the church of San Lucifer, while the second, curated by the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone, starts from the church of Sant'Efisio and returns to it after crossing the Stampace district.

Holy Saturday is characterized by the rite of Su Scravamentu, the deposition from the cross of the dead Christ, who, lying on a litter covered with veils and lace, will then be accompanied to the church of San Giovanni during the afternoon.

On the morning of Easter Sunday, S'Incontru (the meeting) is celebrated, the reunion of the two processions each bearing the simulacrum of the Madonna and the Risen Christ: coming from opposite directions, when they meet one in front of the other, the statues of Mother and Son greet each other with a triple bow to the applause of the crowd and then, side by side, they return to the church where the solemn Mass will be celebrated. The joy of the moment is reflected in the clothing of the statues: the Christ has a red and gold band and a halo to symbolize the Resurrection, while the Virgin wears a white and gold dress with a blue cloak, a lace veil and a crown, and has a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

The colors that invade the streets of the city on the occasion of the processions are also suggestive: the confreres parade dressed in simple white tunics tied at the waist by a cord. The choristers who sing religious songs (Metastasio songs and the Ave Maria in Sardinian) are also dressed in white.

On Easter Monday in Cagliari, there is a special votive procession dedicated to Sant'Efisio: a foretaste of the May Festival in honor of the martyr so loved by Cagliari. The procession led by the Archconfraternity of Gonfalone accompanies from the church of Sant'Efisio to the cathedral the statue of the Saint, sculpted by Giuseppe Antonio Lonis in the eighteenth century. The simulacrum is dressed in armor, a red cloak and a helmet decorated with polychrome ostrich feathers.

According to tradition, Sant'Efisio is carried in a procession in memory of his intercession in 1793 when he intervened, rendering the French ships that besieged Cagliari harmless, thanks to the effects of a terrible storm.

History of the event

As in other centers of the island in Cagliari, the liturgies of the representation of the Passion and death of Christ are still celebrated with ancient ceremonials of medieval descent, mediated by the Iberian tradition. From the Spanish tradition, for example, comes the iconography of the Sorrowful Virgin, the protagonist of the celebrations.

The rites of Iberian origin are then superimposed on elements that come from the even more ancient Campidanese, Logudorese and Barbarian traditions.

In fact, of pre-Christian origin, linked to the cycle of death and rebirth of vegetation, the tradition of sowing grains of wheat or legumes on plates filled with earth or bamboo dates back to the dark and sprout in thick tufts of long and narrow yellow leaves: this is how the seedlings of is nènniris are born, which are displayed in the chapels of the churches where, on Holy Thursday, the Sepulchres are set up and the Blessed Sacrament is adored. In the past, the dried stems of Su Nènniri, once their function in the church ended, made effective as blessed, were used for fumigation against various types of diseases.