Feast of San Giacomo - Caltagirone

The celebrations of the patron saint take place between 23 and 25 July.

July 23 enriches the town with various events: a large fair is set up, local artists and artisans exhibit the products of their work and the municipal garden resounds with music performed by various municipal bands.

On the night of July 24, the ark containing the relics of the Saint is carried in procession, preceded by the jingle and the pavilion, together with the very heavy launch with the statue of San Giacomo. The most evocative spectacle of the celebrations is the lighting of the seventeenth-century staircase of Santa Maria del Monte, known for the ceramic decorations that characterize the rise of each step. From bottom to top, the tile designs trace the history of Calatina ceramics. On the days of 24 and 25 July, the 130 meters of the staircase, which connect the Town Hall Square and the clearing in front of the church of Santa Maria del Monte, are covered with thousands of colored paper tiles arranged to form an immense luminous tapestry . Inside are placed oil wicks. The design, unique for the whole expanse, is inspired by the city or the patron saint. With the staircase deprived of modern lighting, at the signal of the master builder, calatini and tourists together illuminate the individual lamps by means of long and narrow sticks reminiscent of the ancients bucceddi, dried stalks of wild plants. On the evening of 25 July, while the Scala is illuminated, the procession accompanied by the Historical Parade of the Civic Senate, consisting of figures in seventeenth-century costume, and the civil and religious authorities arrives in Piazza Municipio. It is in Piazza Municipio that the City offers the greatest tribute to the Patron Saint, culminating with the solemn blessing of the Bishop given to the whole population with the Relic of the Saint.