Palm Sunday in Caltanissetta

The current form of the parade dates back to the mid nineteenth century, when the congregation decided to respect the chronology of Holy Week, to transform the old procession of the Dead Christ into that of the Blessing Jesus. From that moment began the history of the chariot that celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus of Nazareth to Jerusalem. During the twentieth century, the ceremony was taken over by a committee and, more recently, by the “Gesù Nazareno” Association, which has taken steps to enrich the processional “machine”. The latter, today, has the shape of a boat, which evokes the image of the Gospel of Jesus who speaks to the crowd at the lake of Gennesaret. It is a wooden structure, the hull of which is shaped with chestnut twigs and decorated with a beautiful floral pattern. This type of construction has established itself permanently in the Eighties, after the implementation of an iron skeleton-bearer. This has removed the previous technical difficulties, which forced the people who set up the scenery and to place the statue of Jesus on a more simple and small mountain, made with flowers.