St. Cosma and Damiano’s feast in Sferracavallo

The ballad of the saints and the fireworks

Every year, in the last week of September, the Feast of Saints Cosma and Damiano takes place in Sferracavallo. In addition to the sea and to the delicious food, you can enjoy the famous `”ballad of the saints” and the evocative “fireworks”. In this magical and engaging context, thousands of tourists arrive in Sferracavallo.

The location of Palermo Mare Holidays is ideal for enjoying the holidays. You will be able to see it directly from the balconies or terrace of the structure with a fantastic typically Sicilian atmosphere.

Palermo Mare Holidays offers apartments and rooms to spend your holiday, in the front row, for the patronal feast of the town of Sferracavallo in Palermo.

The famous feast of Sts. Cosma and Damiano takes place every year during the last week of September. From the front row, i.e. the balconies and terraces of the Palermo Mare Holidays tourist facility you can admire the feast of the patron saints of the village of Sferracavallo in its most beautiful phases: the exit of the saints from the church, the ballad with the orchestra and the final entrance.

During the festival, the heavy vara with the simulacra of the Saints is carried through the streets of the village by a large number of young people dressed in white with one red handkerchief tied to their sides and one around their necks, with bare feet.

The ballad of the saints and the fireworks

In ancient times, the celebrations of Saints Cosma and Damiano, protectors of the sick people and the fishermen of the village, took place at a rapid pace in order to bring the simulacra of the saints to all the sick who requested them, asking for freedom from illness or another particular grace. Today, the devotion of the believers brings many tourists from all over the world, especially emigrants abroad eager to see this magnificent event again.

The festival is not only a religious feast, but also a civil celebration: it includes, for example, the game of antinna a mari, a sort of maypole placed on the sea or the traditional and picturesque boat race. The latter is performed on the stretch of sea in front of the village, with flashy colored fishing boats, where each crew consists of four rowers and a helmsman who compete for the final trophy.

The most important day of the feast of Sts. Cosma and Damiano is the last Sunday of September when, around 2 pm, the start of the procession is announced by the continuous ringing of bells.

Hundreds of believers gather in front of the mother church of Sferracavallo to religiously support the peculiar moment of the exit of the martyrs from the sanctuary.

The burdensome vara with the simulacra of the holy martyrs is supported on the shoulders in the streets of the village by a large number of bearers dressed in white with two red scarves tied one to the hips and the other to the neck.

Immediately after the exit, the evocative “ballad” of the vara is performed accompanied by the musical band and the clapping rhythm of the people who extraordinarily crowd the square and balconies.

The procession ends late at night with the theatrical dance of the bearers of the vara and with its overwhelming ascent along via Mariana up to piazza Ss. Cosma and Damiano where the long-awaited “final ballad” is celebrated.

The pyrotechnic games (fireworks) performed in honor of the saints are among the most spectacular ones, and every year they attract to the seaside village an incredible number of spectators from all over the Palermo area.

BOOK now a room or an apartment in front of the church of Sferracavallo and discover the offers by calling

Ph. (+39) 349 6103555.

Palermo Mare Holidays

Via Torretta 7, Sferracavallo – Palermo

www.palermomare.it