The religious rituals celebrating the Most Holy Crucifix take place on the first Sunday of May in Buscemi.

According to tradition, it is the oldest feast in Buscemi — certainly the one that unites the town’s various groups in the worship of the Crucified Christ. Ancient rituals can be traced here, though now lost, such as the lingua a strascinuni: as a vow fulfilled, the devotee — accompanied by a relative holding a handkerchief — would crawl on their knees from the entrance of the church to the main altar, often leaving a trail of blood.

On the Friday evening before the feast, a luminaria (ritual lighting) would take place, with dozens of children walking through the town’s streets holding lit torches made from the stems of disa (ampelodesmos) or other similar plants. Adults would accompany the children. Today, the feast takes place on Sunday morning with the statue of the Crucifix being carried on shoulders, accompanied by local authorities and a large crowd of devotees.

The small and simple vara bearing the finely crafted statue of the Crucified Christ—with its distinctive large loincloth—is adorned entirely with seasonal flowers, especially the so-called “May flowers” (i mai). Until not too long ago, the celebration would end in the evening with a large bonfire in the square outside the church, and with boys leaping over the still-glowing embers.

The Most Holy Crucifix of Buscemi was once renowned for the miracles performed during periods of prolonged drought or dangerous floods:

In cases of drought or floods—catastrophic events—it was to the Crucifissu that the people of Buscemi peasants from nearby villages turned, joining in the collective plea for help. At the unanimous request of the people, the statue was carried in procession, accompanied only by the singing of women and many penitents who would flog themselves with the capizzuni (a kind of whip) or other instruments of pain. During such calamities, the Lord was taken in procession as an act of penance. When the plea was answered, the statue, which had been temporarily held in the Mother Church, was returned to its own church in a solemn and festive procession.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Buscemi, as part of Intervention 2 “Activation of the Observatory on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Territory through the application of the REIL methodology – Register of Intangible Heritage of Local Interest”, within the”Buscemi Borgo Immateriale” project, funded by the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), Mission: Digitalisation, innovation, competitiveness, culture and tourism, Component: Tourism and culture 4.0, Investment 2.1 “Attractiveness of villages.” CUP: I84H22000050006.