Il ballo del "Cavalluccio di fuoco"The traditional lighting of the large bonfire, in our vernacular "u
Luminariu", announces the beginning of the Novena for the great celebrations in honor of San Rocco.
In the distant past, in addition to the bonfire in the square in front of the church of
San Rocco, numerous other fires were lit in the various neighborhoods of our town. Lighting many fires is a custom no longer
practiced; in recent decades the beginning of the saint's novena has always been announced, and still continues to be so,
by a single large bonfire lit in front of the saint's church, preceded by the dance of the giants
and the dance of the firehorse ("u sceccu i focu") made with a framework of reeds and decorated with tubes containing gunpowder
and fireworks.
A dance, this one of the little horse of Spanish origin, dating back to the 1600s, which
symbolizes the struggle between good and evil.
The firehorse performs in the square carried on the shoulders of the stoker who moves to the rhythm of the drums while all
around there is a continuous explosion of pinwheels and fireworks.
Falò - Foto Collezione Giovanni Russo
Falò - Foto Collezione Giovanni Russo
Falò - Foto Collezione Giovanni Russo
Festeggiamenti Civili in onore di San Rocco - Cittanova, Settembre 2023
Festeggiamenti Civili in onore di San Rocco - Cittanova, Settembre 2023