The Procession of the Machines

On Good Friday, an evocative procession takes place in Vercelli in which beautiful colored wooden sculpture groups depicting episodes from the Passion of Christ are carried - along the city streets lit only by torches. The so-called "machines" are life-size and are carried in procession by members of the ancient Eusebian confraternities, who wear traditional costumes. The oldest and heaviest machine to carry is the one depicting "Jesus in the Garden of Olives, dated 1740.