As I began to research my thesis topic back in the winter, I came across this festival and knew that I had to see it, regardless of whether I would concentrate my research on city plans, or architectural decoration. This is entirely because of La Scala Illuminata, “the illuminated staircase,” when La Scala di Santa Maria del Monte, a monumental staircase of 142 steps, is decorated with candles placed inside of colored paper bags. Through my limited research, I came across photographs of the staircase from previous years, and I knew that I had to see it in person.
The trip was haphazardly planned: I mentioned to Dorota that I wanted to see this several months ago, and we had been planning on going, but then we found out there were no late buses back to Catania on the weekend (the latest leaves Caltagirone around 7:00 pm). We briefly contemplated staying up all night, then taking the earliest bus at 6:00 am, but then decided that that was a poor decision, as we both had things to do on Monday. Unfortunately, there are no hostels in Caltagirone (which is why we entertained the idea of staying up all night), then 3 hours before our bus we made some calls and found a room for 35 euro per person. Not cheap, but definitely not the most expensive option. Having figured that out, we felt more comfortable bringing our cameras, which was well worth it in the end.
The bus ride to Caltagirone was crowded with kids from Palagonia, the only other stop, returning home on the last bus at 5:30 after a day at the beach. I sat next to a lawyer from Caltagirone, and we chatted about my thesis, America, Italy, and Sicilian Baroque. He ended up giving me advice on a few places to see (mostly places in Noto and Palermo). Also, the countryside near Caltagirone was gorgeous, and I could not stop taking pictures of it.
When we arrived in Caltagirone, the first thing Dorota and I noticed was that it was not hot! There was a cool breeze and the temperature in this hilltop town was closer to 80 than the 95 we had been accustomed to in Catania. Toward the end of the night, it was getting quite chilly, and I almost wished that I had packed my light sweater.
After checking into the hotel, we went on a mission to find the staircase (easy: just follow the crowd), and were distracted my some more beautiful panoramic views of the countryside, and beautiful churches in the centro storico. We eventually found the staircase, just in time to take pictures of it, and views from the the top of it, before nightfall.
The pattern shows San Giacomo (St. James) on a horse. After a brief search (http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/21250) I found out that he is the patron saint of pilgrims (think pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain), knights, soldiers, and rheumatic illnesses. (To me, the first three seem related, the last one not remotely.)
At 9:00, the procession began at one church in the centro storico, and then wound around the town for the next several hours. It began with a giant tent, followed by church officials, monks, people in 17th century dress, a reliquary, a statue of San Giacomo under a baldacchino, and a marching band. Upon seeing the reliquary and the statue, most people crossed themselves and some shouted "Viva San Giacomo!"
At 9:30, the staircase was lit by hundreds of people. They covered the staircase beforehand, slowly lighting the candles and moving away to eventually reveal the masterpiece.
It was an amazing trip, and there's another festival with La Scala Illuminata August 14th and 15th, and I'm sorely tempted to go.
that looks so awesome skyla! the stairs remind me of that game we used to have when we were little where you poke the holes on a piece of paper and it lights up in the background (no idea what it was called). I love reading your blog! keep me posted!
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