In the month of May the most awaited festival by the people of Bari: the 3-day program for the feast of San Nicola
Write down these dates because they will be the days that will most impress you during your experience in Bari. We are talking about 7-8-9 May , the three most anticipated days of the year by the people of Bari and beyond.
The feast of San Nicola , the patron saint of the city of Bari, is celebrated at two different times of the year or and, above all, in two different ways. On 6 December , in fact, there is a religious celebration where many people from Bari, Puglia and pilgrims coming mainly from Russia, meet in the Basilica of San Nicola to then attend the historical procession and when the Christmas tree is turned on.
From 7 to 9 May , on the other hand, the real feast of San Nicola arrives, that is the feast of the Patron Saint, in memory of the arrival in Bari of the relics of the Saint transported from Myra by 62 brave sailors (it was the year 1087).
On these days, in addition to the religious rite, there is also a civil celebration which implies the closure to traffic of a large area of the urban center of Bari to allow the passage of one of the longest and most important historical processions in Italy and to host the many, many people of Bari, pilgrims and tourists who literally crowd the streets of the center and the seafront (morning and evening) to attend the celebrations, fireworks and the exhibition of the National Aerobatic Team also known as tricolor arrows (the latter every two years) .
Having made this premise let's discover together, analyzing a little more in detail, the program of the feast of San Nicola and the engaging feast of Bari .
7 May: the painting and the historical procession
Tradition provides that the painting of San Nicola must be brought from San Giorgio bay (place where the sailors arrived with the Saint's remains) up to the old port of Bari, the Molo San Nicola , by means of a fishing boat.
After this symbolic journey, the painting is subsequently delivered and transferred for the historical procession, that is a representation that recalls the arrival in Bari of the remains of San Nicola complete with a caravel, figures and flag-wavers; a journey that starts and ends in the old city, but above all with the delivery of the painting to the Basilica of San Nicola . It is useless to point out the thousands of people present during the ceremony.
May 8: San Nicola goes to sea
On May 8 it is the statue of San Nicola to be taken by sea, first along the alleys of Bari vecchia and then the sea of the capital through a fishing boat which, in turn, hosts the Saint in the water for the whole day.
To accompany the fishing boat there are usually many boats full of faithful ready to honor the Saint. In the afternoon, if foreseen, the fantastic tricolor arrows will be exhibited which, every two years, color the sky of Bari with the Italian tricolor (nothing short of a must) , and then conclude the day with the traditional fireworks in honor of the Saint.
9 May: the relics and the feast of the people of Bari
The 9 May is the day of the Holy Manna, that is the liquid that oozes from the bones of the Saint that is taken by the Rector of the Basilica and exposed to the faithful to renew the blessing of the people Bari. This day is commonly known as "dei Bari" as the pilgrims who have arrived in Bari leave and the citizens again witness the fireworks that close the beautiful in the evening. feast of St. Nicholas .
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