Festival of San Sebastiano in Sicily

What is the Festival of San Sebastiano, in Sicily, Italy? Twice a year in January and August in the Sicilian province of Syracuse, the guardian and one of the patron saints of the town Palazzolo Acreide is celebrated. The religious winter celebration of St. Sebastian lasts a week, bringing together the parish faithful while the summer one can last over a week and really seeks to combine devotion and folklore with a wonderful feast characteristic of Sicily. Witness the many and unusual cultural traditions such as bare babies being held aloft to be blessed and the exciting ‘sciuta’ or exit from the church of the statue of St. Sebastian in a gilded… carried out and held high on the shoulders of an army of men dressed in red and white to a ringing fanfare. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine, and architecture. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Erice and Selinunte. Come and visit Sicily and its popular festivals!