Feast of Our Lady of Consolation

The event falls every second Saturday in September and includes four consecutive days of celebrations and civil festivities culminating in the grand finale on Tuesday evening when the entire Strait is lit up by fireworks. The real heart of the feast is on Tuesday when the painting of Our Lady of Consolation, the work of the Reggio Emilia painter Nicolò Andrea Capriolo in 1547, is carried in procession by the "bearers of the Vara," a shoulder-mounted machine of considerable size: 5 meters high and weighing 12 quintals. The bearers, followed by the faithful, walk about 3.5 kilometers and lead the painting through a city route that winds through the praying crowds.