From February 3rd to 5th Catania celebrates its patron saint with one of the largest religious festivals in Sicily. The Saint was martyred in the third century by the Roman Prefect Quintianus as she was a virgin and had rejected him, confessing her Christian faith. However, the festival is also a complex series of ceremonies that date back to Pagan traditions.

 

February 3rd: the celebrations begin with the "Candelore" procession, a procession of large wooden structures decorated in gold which contain images of the Saint's martyrdom that are carried around the streets of the city in a long procession that lasts until evening. The city's authorities take part in the procession, inside a carriage that is similar to the one that belonged to Ferdinand II of Aragon. The evening sees the "partiti" groups of young people who sing songs in the Cathedral square.

 

February 4th: procession of the saints' relics on the morning. A heavy carriage containing a bust with the saint's relics is dragged through the city streets by barefoot devotees, dressed in traditional white tunics and black velvet berets. In the evening, the procession is taken around downtown Catania, where the celebrations are rather different: music, houses decorated for the event, cafeterias full of people and stalls selling barbecued meat and sweets.

February 5th: the same procession with the saint's cart is taken around a different route in the city. In the evening, thousands of people go to Piazza Borgo to see the firework display that hails the end of the celebrations.