The Holy Week in Taranto begins on Palm Sunday, following the usual liturgical celebrations. It is on this day that, to commemorate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the two brotherhoods that animate these rites meet. These are the Confraternity of the Sorrowful Virgin and the Confraternity of the Carmine. At the heart of the main activities are the assignments, to one brotherhood or the other, of the statues to be carried in procession, for which an auction is held and the proceeds are then allocated to charity activities throughout the year. Procession Taranto.
Holy Week Procession Taranto
Perdoni Procession Taranto
The official start of Holy Week in Taranto is marked by the outing of the Perdoni around 3 p.m., brothers who in pairs visit the main churches of the city to see the so-called sepulchers, barefoot and in traditional dress. Tradition holds that the Perdoni symbolize the figure of the pilgrim on the way to Rome. Once the Perdoni have completed their route, with slow, heavy, and swaying movements, the population prepares for the procession of the Sorrowful Virgin.
Sorrowful Virgin Procession Taranto
The Sorrowful Virgin Procession Taranto traditionally starts from the Church of San Domenico Maggiore at midnight between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Leading the crowd is the statue of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary, accompanied by pairs of postes (the Perdoni), various other traditional figures, and music with somber tones. The procession of the Sorrowful Virgin, which evokes the desperate search by the Virgin Mary for her son Jesus, continues until the afternoon of Good Friday, when around 5 p.m., everything is ready at the Church of Carmine for the Procession of the Mysteries.
