PhD Program in Historical studies
The Procession of the Misteri of Sessa Aurunca (Caserta)
The Procession of the Misteri of Sessa Aurunca (Caserta) takes place in the two days preceding Easter Sunday. On Good Friday, the Baroque Misteri are carried on the shoulders of the confrati of the Santissimo Crocifisso (Holy Cross), advancing with slow, undulating gait: the traditional movement called the cunnuella. There are four groups of statues: Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus at the Pillar, Ecce homo, the Second Fall of Jesus. Such a procession is followed by an impressive cross (on which are depicted all the symbols of the Passion), by the bier of the Dead Christ and effigies of the three Marys. The path of the sacred parade is floodlit by impressive bonfires. On Holy Saturday the Confraternity of Saint Charles Borromeo and that of the Santissimo Rifugio (Most Holy Refuge) have the honour and the burden of carrying the Misteri of the Deposition of Christ from the Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows in procession, accompanied by women dressed in mourning and barefoot.