The Muzzuni Festival

Every year on June 24 (the day dedicated to Saint John the Baptist martyr) an ancient pagan festival is held in Alcara Li Fusi that lasts for three days. It is a propitiatory rite related to the fertility of the earth, a hymn to Nature that dates back to Hellenic civilization and in the past also coincided with the Summer Solstice-June 21. The feast begins at sunset, when women prepare "u Muzzuni," a pitcher with a crooked neck covered with a silk and gold cloth; these are placed on altars in numerous corners of the town and filled with "Laureddi"-stalks of wheat sprouted in the dark, lavender and carnations. All the streets of the town are enveloped in ancient polyphonic songs and dances.