Among the devotional traditions that characterized religious and maritime festivals in Messina during the Modern Age, the ‘Vascelluzzo’ festival has played a particularly important role. The procession of the ‘Vascelluzzo’ (small vessel), follows the devotional course of the Corpus Domini, in which the religious element is superimposed on the popular element. There are different versions of the historical event that gave rise to the traditional festival of the ‘Vascelluzzo’. In 1575, a small silver vessel was chiselled by Messinese silversmiths, commissioned by the Municipal Senate to thank the Virgin for her protection during terrible famines. A traditional procession, during which people followed the sacred vessel, was promoted by the Confraternity of Sailors, which was established in the Church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo. The Modern Age festivals paid tribute at the same time to simple people and the institutional political authorities. In fact, the festivals represented an instrumentum regni; they served to show the importance and the greatness of the city, not only to local people, but also to foreigners. The sense of municipal identity was the vital element for the maintenance of national identity, above all in a maritime city like Messina, which underwent foreign domination for many centuries since Ancient times.
Holy Ship: the ‘Vascelluzzo’ of Messina during the Early Modern Age
2011-01-01
Abstract
Among the devotional traditions that characterized religious and maritime festivals in Messina during the Modern Age, the ‘Vascelluzzo’ festival has played a particularly important role. The procession of the ‘Vascelluzzo’ (small vessel), follows the devotional course of the Corpus Domini, in which the religious element is superimposed on the popular element. There are different versions of the historical event that gave rise to the traditional festival of the ‘Vascelluzzo’. In 1575, a small silver vessel was chiselled by Messinese silversmiths, commissioned by the Municipal Senate to thank the Virgin for her protection during terrible famines. A traditional procession, during which people followed the sacred vessel, was promoted by the Confraternity of Sailors, which was established in the Church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo. The Modern Age festivals paid tribute at the same time to simple people and the institutional political authorities. In fact, the festivals represented an instrumentum regni; they served to show the importance and the greatness of the city, not only to local people, but also to foreigners. The sense of municipal identity was the vital element for the maintenance of national identity, above all in a maritime city like Messina, which underwent foreign domination for many centuries since Ancient times.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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