Pasqua (Easter) is perhaps the most celebrated holiday in Italy, with La Settimana Santa (Holy Week) rites commencing on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday. Sicily and Sardinia are particularly well-known for solemn displays of religious devotion during this period. Local customs blend with Catholic rites to create unique traditions celebrated faithfully each year.

Sicily’s Easter processions and celebrations are famous in Italy. They are the legacy of the 17th-century Spanish domination of the island and still bear a close resemblance to current Easter traditions in Spain.