The Procession of the Dead Friars

and Lost Souls

8th Edition

Saturday 11 November 2023 h. 10.30

Historical Center of Naples

The Procession of the Dead Friars and Lost Souls of the Fontevecchia Association will open, for the eighth consecutive year, the Neapolitan Long Christmas festivities on Saturday 11 November in Naples.

The procession of the Friars accompanied by dances in historical nineteenth-century Neapolitan and Abruzzo dress will color the streets of the historic center of Naples on the occasion of the eighth edition of the event organized by Fontevecchia, I Sedili di Napoli, Camminando Insieme, Beato Marco d'Aviano , La Gualdana dell'Orso, the Pulcinellas of Pssar De Cecco, the Parthenope dance company.

The event will start at 10am from Via San Biagio dei Librai, State Archive exit, Piazza San Domeni Maggiore, Via Raimondo di Sangro, Piazza Miraglia, Via Tribunali, Piazza San Gaetano. Via San Gregorio Armeno, Vico Santa Luciella, Via San Biagio dei Librai returning to the State Archives where, in the Sala Filangieri, the final Grand Historical Ball will be held in nineteenth-century dresses with Leontina Alvaro as master of ceremonies. The dramatization will be curated by Angelantonio Aversana and Luciano Troiano.

The heart of the ancient Neapolitan centre, a UNESCO heritage site, will host as usual the initiative which will make the two decumani even more alive thanks to the colorful hats of the Pulcinella Abruzzesi, the nineteenth-century clothes of Camminando Insieme, to the sound of the Zampogne d'Abruzzo who will perform Christmas hymns and music as per tradition.

The Procession of the Dead Friars and the Lost Souls will accompany those present among legends and oral tales of the peoples of the ancient Kingdom who come to life in the popular Neapolitan nativity scene.

“You were honored and satisfied with Aprilcelebrate the Christmas holidays in what, for our association, is the city of reference for our history and culture. Abruzzo – says Luciano Troiano, president of Fontevecchia – was part of the Kingdom of Naples first and of the Two Sicilies later, for about 800 years. History, habits, customs and traditions can only be similar and bind us. The rediscovery of stories, legends and tales are part of our intangible heritage that we must pass on to younger generations to ensure that they are not lost. The event is possible thanks to teamwork with the other associations that have embraced our idea and actively contributed to its realization".

«The Neapolitan nativity scene – explained Giuseppe Serroni, President of the non-profit organization I Sedili di Napoli – is famous throughout the world for its inimitable artistic beauty and for the richness of its scenography and the figures that populate it but few know or they remind us that it is the plastic manifestation, with the use of metaphors and symbols, of a true penitential path towards Redemption and where Life and Death, Birth and Resurrection, walk hand in hand. It is from this perspective that apparently anachronistic characters are present in the Nativity Scene, characters often deriving from the apocryphal gospels or popular tales and legends".

Info: 331/6796820