ROM.A.2015.000940.095-Hybris
ROM.A.2015.000940.095-Hybris

Celebrating Easter in Italy

In Italy, Pasqua is a very important feast and one of the biggest holidays in the Italian calendar. A visit to any part of Italy during this period is an event not to be missed with processions, religious rituals, celebrations and of course wonderful food.

I have always enjoyed this time of year – warmer weather, longer days, the first flowers, nature waking up after the long winter sleep and life in my home village on the Amalfi coast was busy and active once more.

The Easter ritual begins with Palm Sunday, marking the start of what is known as Holy Week, when olive branches are blessed in church. I remember as a child the main square would be littered with branches and my friends and I would collect them and see who could pick up the most.

During Holy Week, the shops would suddenly become busy; the greengrocer came alive with colour as they filled with the season’s new produce, the butcher, after the quiet period of Lent when meat was forbidden, was happily hanging up baby lamb and goat, and chickens were on display. Pastry shops, too, would decorate their windows with huge chocolate eggs and casatielli – round pastries decorated with a cross and sugared baby lambs. As children, we enjoyed looking into the windows and counted the days until Easter Sunday when we could indulge in these sweet treats.

Good Friday

Most towns and villages in Italy hold solemn religious processions on Good Friday and my home village of Minori is no exception. It has always been a highlight and people flock here from other nearby towns and villages for this spectacular event.


The church and village transforms itself into a living theatre depicting the passion of Christ; local adults and children participate and dress up in the traditional battenti costume – long white tunics with pointed hoods covering the head and face, except for two small holes for eyes, and a thick rope tied around the waist. When I was a child I participated and loved to dress up. Others play the part of Christ and the other relevant characters. Sorrowful laments are sung as the Easter story is enacted and watched by hundreds of people. As night falls, the whole village is lit up with candles and as you look from the beach it is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

Easter Sunday

Waking up on Easter Sunday morning to the sound of church bells ringing loudly as locals head to church to celebrate the resurrection mass is a joy.


The village square is teeming with people immaculately dressed for this this joyous occasion, the pasticcerie (pastry shops) are busy selling pastiera di grano – a traditional Easter speciality only really known in Naples and surrounding areas. Easter just wouldn’t be the same without this delicious wheat and ricotta tart. I remember as a child, we, like most of the other families, made lots during Easter to give away as presents. I still make these at home in England now and maintain the same tradition. This dessert is believed to date back to pagan times, when Neapolitans would offer all the fruits of their land to the mermaid, Partenope, with eggs for fertility, wheat from the land, ricotta from the shepherds, the aroma of orange flowers, vanilla to symbolise faraway countries and sugar in honour of the sweet mermaid. 
The village square is teeming with people immaculately dressed for this this joyous occasion, the pasticcerie (pastry shops) are busy selling pastiera di grano – a traditional Easter speciality only really known in Naples and surrounding areas. Easter just wouldn’t be the same without this delicious wheat and ricotta tart. I remember as a child, we, like most of the other families, made lots during Easter to give away as presents. I still make these at home in England now and maintain the same tradition. This dessert is believed to date back to pagan times, when Neapolitans would offer all the fruits of their land to the mermaid, Partenope, with eggs for fertility, wheat from the land, ricotta from the shepherds, the aroma of orange flowers, vanilla to symbolise faraway countries and sugar in honour of the sweet mermaid. 

Easter Monday

Easter Monday, known as Pasquetta is the day Italians go out of town with friends and family, usually to enjoy the first picnic of the season.


The village square is teeming with people immaculately dressed for this this joyous occasion, the pasticcerie (pastry shops) are busy selling pastiera di grano – a traditional Easter speciality only really known in Naples and surrounding areas. Easter just wouldn’t be the same without this delicious wheat and ricotta tart. I remember as a child, we, like most of the other families, made lots during Easter to give away as presents. I still make these at home in England now and maintain the same tradition. This dessert is believed to date back to pagan times, when Neapolitans would offer all the fruits of their land to the mermaid, Partenope, with eggs for fertility, wheat from the land, ricotta from the shepherds, the aroma of orange flowers, vanilla to symbolise faraway countries and sugar in honour of the sweet mermaid. 
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