Due to its location, in the heart of the ancient city, the Pinacoteca nazionale of Sassari will have free admittance on Wednesday 14 August, 2019, to celebrate the Faradda de li Candelieri, an important religious event strongly felt in Sardinia. The museum will offer to the public and to the numerous tourists the possibility to admire the work of the permanent collection, and exceptionally, the two graphic pieces that relate to the Great Festivity:
Candelieri e Parai of Giuseppe Biasi – Colored Linocut. 1936.
I Parai of Battista Ardau Cannas, Xylography on paper. XX century.
I Parai of Battista Ardau Cannas, Xylography on paper. XX century
During the Faradda, the vow made to the Blessed Virgin Assumption for the salvation of the city from the plague of 1652, is fulfilled. The Candelieri, with the Gremi of the Guilds of Arts and Crafts, interpret the population’s sentiment. The procession, slow and orderly, arrives to the Church of Santa Maria di Betlem where, with solemnity and grace, the carriers of the Candelieri, turn the big taper three times, from left to right, and then again from right to left. The rite, in deference, gets rehearsed before the Mayor of the city, silently, just like it happened in the Middle Ages in front of the Podestà. This celebration has been passed down and it has been living for more than seven centuries.
The festivity echoes throughout the city, with its colors and atmosphere, and it gives a rush of emotions that, accompanied by the incessant roar of the drums and the pipers, emphasize the great identity that is still alive and present with great intensity, even today.