For Catholics, Easter is the most important celebration of the year. So it doesn’t surprise that in Italy, where Christianity and Catholicism marked so much of the country’s cultural and artistic heritage, Easter celebrations are a pretty grandiose affair.

From religious re-enactments to processions, from personal moments of meditation and prayer to tons and tons of good food, the week leading to Easter Sunday – which we call Settimana Santa in Italian – Easter itself and Easter Monday (the famous Pasquetta) remain a time deeply rooted into our past.