Cagliari thanked Sant'Efisio for the 368th time, with the first part of the celebration.
Paying homage to the martyr were two thousand five hundred devotees on foot in traditional clothing , 87 cultural and folklore associations , 200 "Cammpidanese knights" , the escort of Efis Gloriosu, present with 36 associations , 56 militiamen on horseback, and 5 groups of musicians launeddas and sulitus, for a total of around 80 instrumentalists , and then the 18 tracas , the large carts pulled by a yoke of oxen which evoke the journey of the devotees of Campidano and Sulcis towards the place of martyrdom.
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THE LIVE:
10.15 PM – The journey now becomes more intimate, the prayer more intense. These are the moments of greatest concentration, some faithful follow the relic of the Saint barefoot. The simulacrum will now spend a night in the parish church of Santa Vittoria in Sarroch waiting to resume the journey to Nora.
9.55 PM – The relic leaves Villa D'Orri, now the procession heads towards Sarroch (passing in front of the Saras).
9 PM – The simulacrum entered the chapel of Villa D'Orri. A triumphal entry, many faithful come to pay homage to him and kiss him. Then the prayer, the moment of reflection, is officiated by Don Sandro Zucca, parish priest of the parish of San Biagio in Dolianova. A very intimate and religious moment of the celebrations in honor of the Saint.
8 PM – The procession towards Sarroch starts again. Next stop at the large Villa D'Orri park, in Sarroch, a splendid garden. Then the simulacrum will depart towards the parish church of Santa Vittoria, where it will spend the night waiting to resume its journey towards Nora.
7 PM – Mass has begun in Su Loi, Capoterra. Then the Saint will resume the road towards Sarroch. Before and after the service, numerous faithful were able to approach the simulacrum for a moment of prayer.
4 PM – The Saint is at Villa Ballero, in Giorgino, waiting to resume the road towards Sarroch. The simulacrum was stripped of its jewels and the chariot was also changed. A more intimate phase of the procession now begins.
1.29 PM – After the long stop in front of the Municipality building, the oxen set off again and now the Sant'Efisio chariot is headed towards Villa Ballero in Giorgino. Thus ends the city part of the great celebration.
1.21 PM – The sound of the sirens of the ships in the port greets the arrival of Sant'Efisio in front of the Municipality of Cagliari, while the soundtrack of the launeddas continues: one of the most touching moments of the procession.
1.15 PM – The Alter Nos Giovanni Battista Ena arrived in front of the Town Hall. The chariot began its descent into Largo Carlo Felice.
1.07 PM – The procession anticipating the arrival of Sant'Efisio continues in front of the Town Hall: it is the turn of the representatives of the Archconfraternity.
12.40 PM – After the first petal throwing, the groups are busy with the flower display in front of the Town Hall: the pavement of Via Roma is filled with colours.
12.24 PM – The Alter Nos passes in via Azuni, the chariot has left the church of Stampace and began its journey between two wings of the crowd of faithful.
12.10 PM – The Saint's chariot was hitched to the oxen in the square of the church of Stampace
12 PM – The mass in the presence of the Alter Nos ended in the small church of Sant'Efisio.
11.40 AM – The president of the region Alessandra Todde at Palazzo Bacaredda for her first feast of Sant'Efisio: «I hope that the saint gives us his protection to be an enlightened protection», she said.
11.30 am – «I feel a bit at home here». Then, pointing to the paintings hanging on the walls of Palazzo Bacaredda which portray his ancestors, he reiterates: "Well, I'm a bit at home here."
Emanuele Filiberto is in the Municipality, in Cagliari, to attend the feast of Sant'Efisio. The administration has reserved a place of honor for the representative of the House of Savoy. His dynasty of (former) rulers «has always been linked to these Sardinian celebrations and I had heard about this festival since I was a child», he says.
«My grandfather was the first to tell me about it», adds Emanuele Filiberto, «last year in July I promised that I would return for this occasion. And here I am."
11 am – The two oxen that will pull the chariot of Sant'Efisio from Cagliari to Nora and the reverse route on May 4th are in Stampace. Bred by the Cabras family of Monserrato they are called “Fairi Biri” and “Chini ses”. The names, read together, mean: “Show yourself, Who you are”.
10.45 am – It has become an institution of May 1st: on the occasion of the Feast of Sant'Efisio also arrive the greetings of Nico Bortis, who became famous for his off-the-cuff speech in honor of the warrior martyr, which has been broadcast for many years now ago on a local TV. Bortis is a permanent presence and now sends a message to all Sardinians: «Come, Sant'Efisio is beautiful».
10.36am – The rain seems to have abandoned Cagliari: the sky is opening and the faithful are increasing along the procession route.
10.30 am – The announcement of Alessandra Todde's presence at the party arrives: the President of the Region will be at Palazzo Bacaredda starting from around 11.15 am.
10 am – At Palazzo Bacaredda the extraordinary commissioner of the Municipality, Luisa Anna Marras, handed over the tricolor sash to the Alter Nos Giovanni Battista Ena, also placing the Golden Fleece, a symbol of honor dating back to the reign of Charles II of Spain, around his neck in 1679: the municipal manager will represent the municipality of Cagliari for all the days of the festival and will escort Sant'Efisio until his return to Stampace on 4 May.
10am – The traccas parade along Corso Vittorio Emanuele
9.45am – The parade of groups begins
9.15am - The rain seems to give a brief respite and the traditional groups gathered at the Don Bosco Salesian Institute prepare to receive the blessing from Don Angelo Santorsola before the parade starts through the streets of the city.
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9.10 am – Alter Nos Giovanni Ena prepares for the official investiture and to reach the town hall on the horse Quarzo. «What do I ask of Sant'Efisio? First of all, peace", Ena's words.
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8.40 am – The emotion of the master of launeddas Luigi Lai , who, like every year for half a century, accompanies the saint throughout the days of the festival. For him, the emotion of being there once again and carrying on a tradition, the art of launeddas, rediscovered and valorised after it had almost disappeared in the 1970s.
8.15 am – Holy mass is underway in the church of Stampace, with the first faithful gathered in prayer despite the rain .
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8am – At the gathering of the groups a celebration of colors and traditional clothes. At the procession , with mother Paola for the Pro Loco Settimo San Pietro, also little Lilia Elisa , just six months old.
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THE PROGRAM – After the Holy Masses, at 10 am the departure of the tracas, an expression of the feelings of affection and gratitude towards the "powerful protector". Following, in the exciting sequence of the procession, the faithful on foot wearing traditional clothes: 2,500 people arriving from all over Sardinia.
At 11am the mass of the Alter Nos , Giovanni Ena, who after receiving the official investiture at Palazzo Bacaredda reaches the small church of Stampace, the heart of the Efisian cult (in the crypt masses are scheduled every hour starting from 7am and up to 10am) .
La vera storia di Sant’Efisio, il martire che liberò la Sardegna
At 12 the Saint in the gala chariot, pulled by oxen, leaves his "home" to receive the warm greetings of the faithful . He is accompanied by the Guardiania, the representative of the municipality, sisters and brothers of the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone. The procession , also animated by militiamen and devotees on horseback, crosses Via Azuni, Piazza Yenne, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Via Sassari, Piazza del Carmine, Via Crispi, Via GM Angioy, Via Mameli, Largo Carlo Felice, Via Roma (Comune side ), Via Sassari (lower part) Viale La Playa, Villaggio Pescatori, Giorgino, Church of Sant'Efisio in Giorgino (3pm). From Giorgino to La Maddalena beach the Simulacrum will be transported by the wagon of the Autonomous Military Command of Sardinia.
At 4.30pm from Maddalena beach, procession along the Provincial Road to the junction with Frutti d'Oro, Su Loi with Holy Mass, Villa d'Orri with Eucharistic Blessing in the private chapel of the Marquises of Villahermosa.
At 7pm Holy Mass in the Church of Sant'Efisio in Cagliari.
At 11pm I arrive in Sarroch where the simulacrum will spend the night in the parish church of Santa Vittoria.
The soundtrack, together with the launeddas and the sulitus, will be based on the songs of the rosaries and the gòcius in honor of Sant'Efisio, performed mainly in the Sardinian language.