The celebration of Saint Joseph in Sant’Angelo Muxaro can be defined as a devotional or ex voto celebration mixed with agro-pastoral rituals associated with food abundance—once collected and distributed to the needy, now prepared and consumed collectively, mostly as an act of devotion to the putative father of Jesus.

Symbolic elements of the Feast include the so-called cannistri—architectural constructions mounted on permanent pyramidal structures carried in processions, dedicated to Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and the Baby Jesus. One month before the feast, the parish assigns the three cannistri to three families, based on deep devotion, a vow fulfilled, or a request for grace. These families decorate the cannistri with evergreen plants or similar foliage, loaves of bread, and various natural food products, all to be consumed later. On the morning of the feast, three individuals chosen by the parish (again for reasons of devotion or vow) are dressed as the “Saints”—St. Joseph, the Madonna, and the Infant Jesus—in the parish hall. The procession then begins, accompanied by drummers, heading to the homes of the families in charge of the cannistri, before traversing the sacred route through the village and returning to the Mother Church.

Once on the church square, a symbolic meal is held for the “Saints” on a raised platform, featuring dishes prepared by the community and arranged on the altar of Saint Joseph in the parish. All attendees are invited to eat what has been gathered, giving priority to the three “Saints.” The meal concludes with the so-called “Saint Joseph’s Soup,” cooked in front of the church that morning and later delivered to the sick in town. In the afternoon, solemn processions continue with musical accompaniment and prayer choirs. At the end, the cannistri are taken to the homes of the families who represented the Saints and are emptied.

The Feast of Saint Joseph in Sant’Angelo Muxaro is a form of worship in which the ex voto concept is highly visible. Unlike other such feasts, the devotion here—expressed in the so-called prummisioni—becomes a collective, rather than familial, ritual. The cannistri, the banquet table, the parish altar, and the soup are all collective expressions of thanksgiving. The prummisioni, tied as in all rites of Saint Joseph to abundance, becomes a public, symbolic scene. As with all such festivals, it deserves safeguarding and promotion—especially in an area where agro-pastoral traditions have not entirely disappeared.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Sant’Angelo Muxaro, as part of Intervention 5 “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 “Mito, storia e tradizioni agropastorali” 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: E69I22000140006.