Varia, a popular catholic celebration

[Melanie90]

On 28 august 2016 the Varia was held in Palmi (a Calabrian city), it is a popular catholic celebration which today is an UNESCO heritage.
It is represented by a 16 Mt height float, the Universe, with a child at its top as a symbol of the Virgin Mary, which is sustained by the God.
It is a multi-year procession in honour of the Vergine Santissima della Sacra Lettera (Holy Letter’s Virgin Mary). Around the float there are children as little angels and Apostles. The float passes through the city after its “scasata” (a dialect world meaning “the exit”).
Concerning the world “Varia”, it’s a dialect world too, and it means “coffin”, the woody place from which the Virgin Mary rises to the Sky.
From 1733 the Virgin Mary of Sacra Lettera was the protector of the city even though its cult is far more ancient.
In the 1575 people from Palmi (palmesi) hosted refugees from Messina (messinesi) escaping from the plague which lasted for thirty years. Thanking people from Palmi, the messinesi donated them one hair of the Virgin Mary, which were brought to Messina in the 42AD with a letter of benediction from the mother of Jesus. Since then the Virgin Mary of the Sacra Lettera has been venerated as in Messina as in Palmi.
Nowadays, Varia is a procession celebrated in the last Sunday of august and its float carried on the shoulders of people represent the human desire to reach God.
I took these photos during my holiday in Palmi, which is my mother’s home town and the city of origin of Leonida Repaci (an Italian writer, poet, essayist and playwright).
Between countless immersions in this surprisingly still warm sea, I was present at events which embellish my days.
For days I followed the preparation of the “scasata” taking pictures of energetic parades and talking with people who were welcoming and full of joy.
I had the opportunity to take photos of the float during its preparation thanking the people who allowed me to climb on it. They were arranging the children around it, and this experience had increased my adrenaline.
Before the float started making its way through the city centre where I was waiting with my camera, I got the idea of asking to someone who lives in high buildings to give me the possibility to take photos from there. I knew it was a crazy thing to do, but I felt I had to take the risk.
So I rang the intercom of people who I don’t know but that I’m still thanking, and a woman, a stranger, allowed me to enter in her home in order to take pictures from her high balcony.
I felt blessed.
The feeling of welcoming, joy and communion was with me during these days. It’s overwhelming how events of peace can make all these wonderful things happens!
Here the photos.

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I mentioned Leonida Repaci in my introduction, and even if it is pretentious, I dared to translate to English something that he wrote and that I would like to share with you as a conclusion of my reportage:

"For me to be born in Calabria is a privilege…both as an artist and as a human I’m grateful to my cradle: for me Calabria is a moral category before a geographic expression. Calabrian as a metaphor , represents the Cliff, that is personality… In the heavy moments of life, when in the storm of adversity, the human being reveals itself, I felt something similar to the Pietrosa’s rocks from where the sea comes back to its primordial innocence in a gigantic scenario of cliffs which are climbing the mountain, repeating the mythology of Titans climbing up to the sky. " ( From "La Calabria, grande e amara" "Calabria, huge and sad/"bitter")

[Mike Buckley]

Fascinating series and narrative!

I'll ask a favor of you: Notice that in the photo of the trombonist playing the Washington Post march, the musician is using the music for tenor saxophone, not the trombone. I would appreciate it if you would either provide a larger image so I can read the notations immediately to the left of the title or if you would please provide that information.

By the way, the musician is playing a valve trombone, as opposed to a slide trombone. A valve trombone is relatively unusual in my part of the world.

[george013]

Nice serie. I like that, photography to show something, in other words documentary.
If you post so many pictures it's preferable to number them.
A few questions.
Pictures 15 and 16, when I counted right, are showing that float. That's carried, isn't it? And those girls on it, they must be fastened to the float, I hope. They're holding the Italian flags, but one of them the rainbowflag. Is there a reason for that?

Different questions as from Mike.

George

[Melanie90]

Fascinating series and narrative!

I'll ask a favor of you: Notice that in the photo of the trombonist playing the Washington Post march, the musician is using the music for tenor saxophone, not the trombone. I would appreciate it if you would either provide a larger image so I can read the notations immediately to the left of the title or if you would please provide that information.

By the way, the musician is playing a valve trombone, as opposed to a slide trombone. A valve trombone is relatively unusual in my part of the world.

Hi Mike!
Is that what you needed?

I can read "Marcia Militare"

[Melanie90]

Nice serie. I like that, photography to show something, in other words documentary.
If you post so many pictures it's preferable to number them.
A few questions.
Pictures 15 and 16, when I counted right, are showing that float. That's carried, isn't it? And those girls on it, they must be fastened to the float, I hope. They're holding the Italian flags, but one of them the rainbowflag. Is there a reason for that?

Different questions as from Mike.

George

Hi George! You're right, I numbered the images, thank you! Yes, the float was carried on shoulders of people, and the little girls were fastened. Yes, there were two girls holding the rainbow flag. Actually I don't think there is any particular reason, in my opinion the Italian flag is just there meaning that it is a traditional celebration, and the rainbow one probably means that we all want the peace.

[Melanie90]

Fascinating series and narrative!

I'll ask a favor of you: Notice that in the photo of the trombonist playing the Washington Post march, the musician is using the music for tenor saxophone, not the trombone. I would appreciate it if you would either provide a larger image so I can read the notations immediately to the left of the title or if you would please provide that information.

By the way, the musician is playing a valve trombone, as opposed to a slide trombone. A valve trombone is relatively unusual in my part of the world.

And " J. P. Sousa "

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Melania!

That notation on the left side makes sense. That's because Washington Post is a military march composed by John Philip Sousa.

It's still really fascinating to me that the trombonist is reading the tenor saxophone part. That part would have to be transposed down one octave and a step to be played on the trombone. Trombonists are usually not trained to transpose at sight. Instead, they would normally be given the trombone part requiring no transposition.

[Dave Humphries]

Fascinating is certainly the correct term to use for this thread Melania,

I like that you got yourself in amongst the action and applaud your initiative in finding a suitable high vantage point to show us the size of the float (in #16).

It is odd that in the UK, we use the word 'float' to describe the decorated structures in our town carnivals - I had never really wondered why it seemed inappropriate, given that most of our 'floats' are built on the back of lorries and articulated trucks (and some smaller vehicles). Now I can see where/how the name originated; it never occurred to me that such structures could be carried!

Thank you, Dave

[george013]

Hi George! You're right, I numbered the images, thank you! Yes, the float was carried on shoulders of people, and the little girls were fastened. Yes, there were two girls holding the rainbow flag. Actually I don't think there is any particular reason, in my opinion the Italian flag is just there meaning that it is a traditional celebration, and the rainbow one probably means that we all want the peace.

I'm not surprised about the Italian flags. Nationalism and religion go hand in hand often. It was more the rainbow flag. I only know that as the homo flag. And that I couldn't place in the context. But I found out that the rainbow flag is more. So I learned something.

George

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[bnnrcn]

Great set Melania

[Melanie90]

Thanks for your comments

[Milehighguy]

Excellent picture story. The high long-shot #16 almost tells the story in itself, but your other pictures complete "the book".