Easter Arches (Arches of Loaves)
Property included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of Sicily (REIS)
Every year, on Easter Sunday, in the small town of Agrigento, a challenge is celebrated between the devotees of the Madonna, who belong to the brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament and the devotees of the dead Christ who belong to the brotherhood of the Blessed Rosary. The competition consists in setting up enormous scaffolding that form the architectural backdrop to the encounter between the Mother and the Risen Son on Easter day. Along the main street of the town, where the Mother Church rises from which the statues will come out, two monumental arches are set up which divide the surrounding space into two distinct areas of relevance. The arches are made on plant structures of ferule and reeds and covered with loaves, citrus fruits, bay leaves, dates, flowers and rosemary. Their preparation began a few weeks earlier, transforming the town into a large construction site where men devote themselves to large scaffolding, while women create the figurative elements. Along the surface of these grandiose and spectacular ephemeral architectures, a series of figurative paintings with sacred subjects follow one another. Zoomorphic figures prevail: fish and butterflies, eagles and cockerels, doves and lambs but there are also angels, stars, hearts and monstrances. On these small bas-relief paintings made of bread, a recurring subject is the facade of the Mother Church. To give more shine to the compositions, the loaves are glazed with a bright white, obtained from the mixture of egg white and sugar and take the name of murmured. They are arranged on the arches over a thick layer of cooked donuts without egg white, amidst carnations and other red flowers. Very long sequences of oranges frame the compositions. Other loaves depict biblical episodes and scenes from the Via Crucis, but also rose windows and medallions that reproduce the four seasons, swallow's nests with real moss inside, haystacks with dry stone bases, bunches of grapes and fruit baskets. Of bread are the capitals of the columns and the same coat of arms of the Municipality that stands out high on the architectural elevations.
Photo: web
----------------
Technical sheet prepared by: Region of Sicily - Department of cultural heritage and Sicilian identity - CRicd: Regional center for inventory, cataloging and documentation and Sicilian regional film library
