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The whole town is
celebrating and decorated with hundreds of illuminations.
In 1605 the pontiff presented the town with a relic of
the martyr, a piece of the saints rib inside a case and a silver urn. On
August 24th after the celebration of the Holy
Communion, standards come out of the church of S.
Bartolomeo and the statue of the Saint is put out at the
top of the flight of step. Carried on the believers
shoulders the statue rapidly comes down the stairs, while
fireworks are thrown to the sky from the bell-tower
together with thousands of coloured paper strips with
writings that celebrate the saint. This is the most
beautiful moment which creates a suggestive atmosphere. A
polychromy of colours, sounds and shouts " Evviva
San Bartolomeo" (Hurrah to San Bartolomeo) which
every year renews a massive popular participation.
The cult of the Madonna della Neve, the joint patron, whose
celebrations are before the onion festival, is as ancient
as "Terravecchia". |