Ten curiosities about the candelore of St. Agata

Everything you did not know (or perhaps you don’t remember) about the candelore, one of the symbols of the feast of St. Agatha.

Here in Catania the devotion to our patron is enormous. And the feast in honor of St. Agatha is so great, that it has been listed as the third most important in the world (after the Holy Week in Seville and the Corpus Christi Festival of Guzco in Peru, for the number of people involved).

The gift of the devotees are the candelore, wooden waxes of different heights and sizes that are carried around during the celebrations. The baroque or rococo structures are supported by a variable number of porters and each tells the story of the corporation behind it. To tell you the best, we reveal ten curiosities about the candelore.

Once upon a time

Before “becoming” candelore, they were simple candles. Only over time, they have become more larger and complex, with a baroque structure and sculpted and decorated with sacred images and flowers: noblemen or an entire corporation used to build them for paying homage to the patroness with a precious gift.

 

The smallest one

The smallest candelora, now kept in the church of San Placido, was probably desired by Monsignor Ventimiglia after the eruption of 1776 which risked to invade Nicolosi and Pedara. This candelora was destroyed by the bombings of the Second World War and then rebuilt. Today it is the least impressive, but also the one that opens the parade and – precisely for the particular dimensions – among the most appreciated. After 1943 it was rebuilt by the surveyor Giacomo Tropea and today parades in its 250 kg of suggestion.

How much they are

The candelore have always had a variable number: there were 22 in 1514, then passed to 28 in 1674 and finally to thirteen at the beginning of 900. Currently there are 13 candelore (the last in order of arrival is that of the Masterpieces of the Assumption Madonna Association) .

A new entry

It seems that in 2021 a new candelora will arrive, the one of Devotees, which will be created by the sculptor Giovanni Sessa and, it seems, that it will be hosted at the church of San Francesco di Paola alla Civita (the parish priest is currently available to host it in a small room of the church). The candelora, with elements such as acanthus leaves and flowers, will also contain twelve cherubs holding festoons or instruments of the martyr and on the top, the crown of St. Agatha.

The order of the candelore

The party is a chaos of people, you will notice it by visiting it. But in reality the candelore follow a precise order in procession. In succession, after the smallest candelora, we find the Candelora of the Rinoti, that of the Ortifluricoltori, followed by those of fishmongers, greengrocers and butchers. Then they arrive on the pastai, that of the pizzicagnoli, that of the bettolieri. Finally, the procession is closed by bakers and bakers and that of the city club of Sant’Agata and of the Sant’Agata Village.

When there was no electricity

The candelore once had the function of illuminating the path of the devotees, since electric light was missing. And each of them has a particular “nickname”, chosen for the particular features of the same. Just think, for example, that the Cereo dei Fruttivendoli is called the “Miss” for its movement and its elegant forms, marked at the base by 4 artistic swans. Or the Cereo degli Ortofluricoltori (gardeners and florists), the most original, is called “the queen” for the Gothic style and the crown that dominates it.

How much does devotion “weigh”?

Today there are thirteen candelore, weighing between 400 and 900 kilos and, depending on the heaviness, they are carried on the shoulders in a number of men ranging from four to twelve. The biggest or waxen candelora of the Fornai and the Panettieri is also the heaviest and is called “the Mother”: to bring these candlesticks of 5 orders in Art Nouveau style are 12 porters and the same is kept in the church of San Francesco all’Immacolata.

Shaking to the rhythm of Marcetta

Until a few decades ago, the candelore came out in a procession starting on February 2nd. Today they start ten days before the party, starting near the shops of the members of the guild from which they come and are accompanied by the band that plays cheerful marchette. Characteristic is the oscillation of the Cereo dei Pescatori, whose top is placed a wreath of flowers that oscillates to the rhythm of music (for this typical step is called “La Bersagliera).

Dancing without end

The tichetta is a competition of resistance between “cannaluristi” (people leading candelore) that happens when the waxes “battle”, challenging each other to keep them suspended and to make them dance longer. Among the other challenges, one must remember the one involving the “Primo Cereo Rinoti” that arrives in the city after the party organized in the district of San Giuseppe La Rena and after having covered an itinerary of about 6 km, accompanied by rector, district committee and own band.The afternoon of the 3rd, between a glass of wine and a lot of good music, the rector of the following year is elected.

An ancient feast

It seems that the festival was established in 492 by Pope Gelasius I or, according to other scholars, by the pope Sergio I in 687. The feast of candelore, which seems to have replaced an ancient pagan ritual, ideally symbolize the flame of light that tears the light of darkness.