"A voi, la buona Pasqua!"

Have yourself a joyful Easter, Sicilian-style.

You may remember Cavalleria Rusticana, the great opera by Pietro Mascagni. The Easter hymn sums up what Sicily is all about, and what Catholicism is all about as well, in my humble opinion. Here is a lovely little video of the hymn with some magnificent Sicilian churches as background. Do listen, and watch. I recognise most of the churches in it… is it not strange that Sicily has some of the greatest churches outside Rome?

If that is not enough, there is always this, Zefirelli’s homage to Mascagni and to Sicily.

Just what is going on liturgically in the Zefirelli film is hard to discern: it is First Holy Communion girls, a Good Friday procession and everything else rolled into one, all happening before the High Mass of Easter. But Zef was never one to hold back - he was a genius! And he understood the genius of Catholicism.

Incidentally, if you want a real Easter Sunday procession, this is one, from Malta.

And here is another one from Malta, where you can see the statue of the Risen Christ carried at a run, as is traditional.

In Cavalleria Rusticana, Santuzza, the wronged woman, curses her lover Turiddu, shouting, ‘A te, la mala Pasqua!’ (To you, a bad Easter.) To all my readers, thanks for reading, and a voi la buona Pasqua!

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice!