Feast of St. John the Baptist

In the past the feast was celebrated on June 24 but was moved to the first Sunday in July to allow sharecroppers and peasants to take part as soon as the wheat and fava bean harvest was over. The solemn festivities begin each year on the night of June 23 with a pilgrimage on foot from neighboring towns that then sees large crowds of the faithful attend the first Eucharistic celebration on the 24th at 4:30. The climax of the festivities is the solemn Procession with the simulacrum of the Saint followed by many devotees who even barefoot walk the entire route with the Saint. The feast in honor of the patron saint is also celebrated on January 11, in memory of the terrible earthquake that destroyed southeastern Sicily in 1693.