Santa Rosalie Festival and Sanctuary
Most cities in Sicily and perhaps Italy
have their own patron saint. Palermo's patron saint is Santa
Rosalie. I don't know all the details of why and when but I can tell
you a brief story.
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| Santa Rosalie Statue but it was too crowded to make our way to her |
Santa Rosalie was born into a noble
family in the 1100s, she was beautiful and had lovely long hair. One
day a duke saw her and fell in love with her. She was only 14 and did
not want to marry him so she cut off her hair and ran away to
dedicate herself to God. She hid herself in a cave and lived out the
rest of her days in this cave above Palermo on Monte Pellegrino.
Hundreds of years later, Palermo was
suffering through the plague and their current patron saints had not
saved them from the plague. So in one person's version it was said
they fired those saints. But it was said that a soap maker had a
dream that Santa Rosalie came to him, told him to come find her bones
in the cave, showed him where the cave was, and bring them to the
people. The soap maker followed what was in his dream and the city
was saved from the plague. Because of this miracle she was made a
saint
So now every July 15 there is a parade,
festival, and fireworks honoring Santa Rosalie for saving the people
of Palermo.
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| One of the many lights decorating the streets |
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| Candy, nuts, and food vendors |
We wandering through a little of the
festival which was mostly vendors selling sweets, toys, food, and
other items. The street from the harbor to The Cathedral of Palermo
was decorated with lights. The Cathedral had beautiful lights on it
and their was one street that you could attempt to crowd down to see
a statue of Santa Rosalie but we only made our way part way. The
parade and fireworks took place after midnight when we were fast
asleep at home.
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| A small bit of the crowd |
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| The many colors of the Cathedral of Palerma |
A few weeks later, one P-day we took a
drive up Monte Pellegrino to the sanctuary of Santa Rosalie with
Sorella Anderson and Sorella Bonzo. A building has been built up
around the cave where you can go into see the sanctuary, pay tribute
if desired, pray, and see articles honoring her and giving thanks for
saving them from illnesses or accidents. It was an interesting find
and a tiny bit worrisome with the rocks being held up with metal.
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| Santa Rosalie Sanctuary |
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| Sorella Bonzo and Sorella Anderson |
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| The sanctuary (cave) entrance |
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| Anziano Garrett exploring the sanctuary |
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| Hopefully the beams hold |
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| Gifts of thanks to Santa Rosalie |
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| Just a little silly fun |
There is a stone path that you can
hike/walk to the Santa Rosalie sanctuary. Craig ran it once and we
might walk it in the cooler weather. It is about a 2 mile hike up the
mountainside. It is reported that some people will climb it on their
knees as part of their tribute to her.
The varieties of beliefs can be
interesting to understand and learn about another culture and lifestyle or religion.
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