In Sassari it is “ Feshta Manna ” for the Descent of the Candlesticks . From 18 , thousands of people welcomed the celebrations with which the city, since the 16th century, renews its vow to Our Lady of the Assumption, thanking her for having ward off the plague epidemic which decimated the population at the time.
As tradition dictates, 13 wooden candles representing the Gremi, the ancient guilds of trades, are carried on the shoulders in a dancing race up to the basilica of Santa Maria in Betlem , where they will arrive late at night to dissolve the religious vow, not before having toasted with the mayor and the municipality in the classic greeting "a zent'anni" (one hundred years). A descent that this year goes down in history because the vote will not be fulfilled inside the church, where restoration work is being carried out, but for the first time in the square in front of it.
The party enlivened the city from the morning, with the traditional ceremony of the "dressing" of the 13 candlesticks. The "Faradda" ends after midnight with the entry of the Candelieri into the cloister of the convent annexed to the basilica of Santa Maria. Religious celebrations will continue tomorrow. At 18 the mass in the cathedral of San Nicola.
(Unioneonline/vf)