Abruzzo: the solemn singing of the confraternities in Pescocostanzo

On the Cinque Miglia plateau, in the shadow of the Majella, Pescocostanzo welcomes Easter with a rigour that smells of medieval and baroque history. Celebrations begin in the second week of Lent with the 'Quarantore', a rite of adoration that sees the Confraternity of Santa Maria del Suffragio dei Morti engaged in extraordinarily evocative liturgical chants, such as the Lessons of the Madonna and the Te Deum. The emotional climax is reached between Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, when the village resounds with the melodies of the Miserere, performed according to an ancient tradition of Lombard origin that underlines its philological uniqueness. On Good Friday, the community ideally splits between the dawn rite, dedicated to the visit to the Sepulchres, and the majestic evening procession with the statue of the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows. In a silence broken only by footsteps and prayers, the brethren in white coats and black hoods advance by torchlight, while the village lights go out to make way for devotion. On the taste front, Easter in Pescocostanzo finds its maximum expression in the 'scarsella', a pastry sheet that encloses a skilful blend of cow and sheep cheeses, enriched with eggs and candied fruit, a synthesis of pastoral tradition and local culinary art.