PhD Program in Historical studies
The Holy Week of Molfetta (Bari)
The Easter rites of MolfettaMolfetta is a city in the province of Bari in Apulia. In Early Modern times, the city came under the jurisdiction of the Aragonese, after being under Angevin rule. In the context of the struggle between the Spanish and French for hegemony in Italy, in 1529 the Apulian town suffered under the transalpine troops and the Venetians. In the following centuries, Molfetta shared the fate of the Kingdom of Naples. Of particular interest is the monumental Baroque Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. begin on Ash Wednesday with a procession of the Cross, organized by the Archconfraternity of the Morte del Sacco Nero (Death of the Black Sack). It followed the procession of Our Blessed Lady of Sorrows, which is held on Passion Friday before Palm Sunday. In the early hours of Good Friday, however the procession of the Misteri begins: the members of the Archconfraternity of Santo Stefano (Saint Stephen) carry the five groups of statues on their shoulders. Many date back to the sixteenth century, depicting scenes from the Passion and Death of Jesus: Christ in the Garden, the Flagellation, Ecce Homo, Christ at Calvary, the Dead Christ. The pace of the faithful is slow and hesitant, accompanied by the haunting funeral march written in the mid-nineteenth century by Maestro Vincenzo Valente: the ConzasieggeIt seems that the artist Vincenzo Valente (1830-1908), a famous composer from Molfetta, so called his funeral march because it was inspired by the cry of an itinerant craftsman who repaired straw chairs: the conzasiegge, in dialect.. On Holy Saturday another important procession is held in Molfetta: the procession of the Pietà , which involves the participation of papier-mâché statues representing Saint Peter, Veronica (which bears the image of Christ), Mary of Cleophas (which bears the holy relics), Mary Salomé (the carrier of perfumes), Mary Magdalene (the sinner) and Saint John (the beloved disciple).