The Feast of Saint Ephisius in Cagliari

For more than four centuries, Cagliari has celebrated a great feast in honor of Saint Ephisius. The event is well attended by the faithful, who dedicate a traditional and enthralling procession to the saint, which has remained unchanged over time. The feast commemorates the miraculous intercession of the saint in the 17th century that ended the plague that had tragically struck Cagliari. The procession-which travels about 80 kilometers (50 miles)-begins at the Church of Stampace, where the sculpture of the saint is taken and retraces a route that reaches the prison where St. Ephisius was taken prisoner, then the site of his martyrdom in Nora before returning on the last day of the feast-by midnight-to Cagliari to the church from which the procession began. The procession is attended each year by thousands of faithful who parade - in traditional Sardinian costumes - on foot, on horseback and in ox-drawn farm carts decorated with flowers and fruit, known as "tracas." The statue of the saint is also decorated for the occasion with a precious red and blue damask cloak.