Easter is an important Catholic celebration all over Italy but in some regions, it’s felt more deeply and celebrated with ancient rituals. While Easter in Rome attracts thousands of visitors every year, either for tourism or Vatican-bound, in Sardinia, this is an occasion to gather and perform old ceremonies that are always more endangered. Easter in Sardinia is not only a commemoration of the last days of Christ on earth but also a moment for gathering and spending time all together as part of a community.
If you are planning to spend Easter in Italy and are a fan of local traditions and ancient rituals, Sardinia is among the most fascinating regions to visit this time of the year.
What happens in Sardinia during the Holy Week? The main rituals
During the Holy Week, Sardinia is a buzz of activities, rituals, and celebrations. From Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday, priests and townspeople gather and meet to commemorate the last essential moments of Christ before dying. So whether it’s the commemoration of his triumphal entrance in Jerusalem to his passion on the cross, this last week of Lent rounds off 40 days of mourning and welcomes the new season of light.
Every town in Sardinia has its own Easter. Even if two villages are actually bordering each other, it doesn’t mean that they have the same celebrations and season calendar.
Some of the most common events include making decorated palms and olive branches to be blessed during the Mass of Palm Sunday, going for parades and religious processions across town, commemorating the passion in the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), taking Christ off the Cross once he dies, and celebrating his Resurrection.
Domenica delle Palme (Palm Sunday)
The Sunday before Easter starts the Holy Week and commemorates the triumphal entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem. In Sardinia, this is celebrated with finely decorated palm branches and small olive branches handed out to the townspeople once they are blessed by the priest at the beginning of the mass.
Lavanda dei piedi (Foot washing)
The rite of foot washing takes place on Maundy Thursday, which is the day that puts an end to Lent. What’s known and reproduced today as foot washing during Easter in Sardinia and also in other regions of Italy is actually a very ancient custom meant to symbolize hospitality.
As described in John’s gospel, it was the duty of the slave towards his landlord, of the wife towards her husband, and of the son towards his father. This is what Jesus does to the Apostles after the last supper and this is what the local priests and also the pope do during a religious function.
Via Crucis (Way of the Cross)
Not every town celebrates the Stations of the Cross. Where they do, it usually takes place with the priest leading a procession of townspeople and stopping at every station.
S’Incravamentu
This is the rite when they commemorate the crucifixion of Christ.
S’Iscravamentu
This takes place on the same day of s’incravamentu, usually on Good Friday, and commemorates the moment they took Jesus off the cross after his death. This usually happens in the dark and is followed by a full day of mourning before Easter.
Veglia pasquale (Easter vigil)
The Easter vigil in most towns and villages takes place on Easter Saturday and is a moment of mourning for the dead Christ.
S’Incontru
In many towns, this ritual happens on Easter Sunday before the main Mass and is the moment when the grieving Mary meets the resurrected Christ. Usually, once the meeting has happened, the veil on the statues is removed as a sign of end of the mourning and the beginning of the celebrations.
What to do and where to go for Easter in Sardinia
See the ancient Easter rituals in Tadasuni
Tadasuni is one of the few towns in Sardinia that still performs the rituals related to the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ the way it has been done for centuries. This is also the merit of the young parish priest, Don Antonio, who started a painstaking job of asking the elderly of the town for what they remembered from the old days and also perusing the archives of the parish on the lookout for documents and customs.
The ferment starts on the Friday and Saturday before Palm Sunday when the men of the town part of the local “confraternita” (guild) gather and create the finely decorated palm branches the parish priest will bless and hand out to the townspeople.
This year, we are following all the ancient rituals in Tadasuni, starting from Palm Sunday all through the Holy Week. So on Thursday, there will be the ritual of the feet washing (lavanda dei piedi) using “sa lisia“, a special decoction made with filtered ashes, calamint, rosemary, hyssop, and hoary stock.
The Holy Friday is the day for important rituals because this is the day Christ died and was buried in the sepulcher. In many places, including Rome, this is when they perform the Way of the Cross to commemorate the Passion. In Tadasuni, they don’t do it. Instead, they perform the solemn rites of “S’Incravamentu”, when they place Jesus on the Cross, and “S’Iscravamentu”, when they remove His body from the Cross.
Once Jesus is off the cross, they parade with the dead Christ and perform the rite known as “de s’inserru“, when they place him in the grave. On Easter Sunday, it’s symbolic of the rite of “s’incontru“, the meeting between the Resurrected Christ and the grieving Mary (Addolorata) in the streets of the town. The moment they meet, the statue of the grieving Mary, until now veiled, is unveiled and the bells of the church are played in the festive mode.
As a sign of respect, when Christ dies, the townspeople dress up the streets where the procession happens with lit-up candles and black drapes, while when Jesus resurrects, the drapes are white and red.
Follow the Via Crucis in Ghilarza
While in Ghilarza, one of the biggest towns and busiest hubs of the Guilcer region in central Sardinia, they organize a procession along the streets of the historic center to recreate the moments of the Passion with the Stations of the Cross (Via Crucis).
The stations of the cross are marked with small wooden crosses hung on the city’s walls. This event doesn’t happen every year on the same date. Sometimes it’s on Holy Friday, which traditionally is the day that corresponds to when Jesus died on the cross, but other years it’s organized on another day.
The townspeople and local bakeries also make typical bread and cakes from Palm Sunday through Easter.
Attend the mysterious procession in Santu Lussurgiu
A mountain town in central Sardinia, in Santu Lussurgiu, too, they organize the rituals for every pivotal moment of the Holy Week.
On Maundy Thursday, the Paschal Tritium starts and after the mass, the guild (confraternita) performs the rite of the crucifixion of Christ (S’Incravamentu). On Good Friday, the most dramatic moment is when the litter where the dead Christ lies surrounded by four members of the confraternita carrying dark lamps reaches the main church.
Christ is then removed from the cross and brought with another procession to Santa Maria degli Angeli Church. Here, the statue remains on display for the faithful to worship. On Easter Sunday, the village of Santu Lussurgiu celebrates the resurrection of the Christ as well as a rite known in Sardinian as “S’Incontru”, meaning “the meeting”, commemorating the first meeting between the resurrected Christ and the Madonna.
Join the celebrations in Cagliari
Cagliari is Sardinia’s capital and biggest city. For Easter, the three main confraternite (guilds) taking care of the celebrations for the Holy Week organize several processions and rituals. These are all very ancient customs carried out by very ancient guilds and associations.
Of course, being in Cagliari, you can choose to both enjoy Easter in Sardinia and also the city life. In April, Cagliari is warm and very pleasant. You can walk along the beautiful Via Roma, visit its landmarks and churches, hike Sella del Diavolo hill by the sea, walk along the Poetto beach, and even take a trip to the nearby Nora archaeological site or Sant’Antioco island.
Go out in the nature
Just like for the rest of the country, Easter Monday is the day that kicks off adventures in nature. So if you are staying in a city like Cagliari, Sassari, or Olbia, I would suggest taking a day trip.
Even in the case you are spending Easter in Sardinia in a smaller town, going out for a hike, a walk along the beach, or a boat ride to see some cool sea grottoes like Grotte del Bue Marino from Cala Gonone on the eastern coast or Grotte di Nettuno from Alghero on the northwestern coast.
What to eat during Easter in Sardinia
Pan’e Prama
Pan’e prama is beautiful and delicious. Finely carved and decorated with roasted almonds, this bread is savory but leaves a sort of cake-ish aftertaste. It’s used in Ghilarza for Palm Sunday, even though they start making it the week before. You can buy from the local historic Pische bakery.
It’s made with thin curly bread stripes and comes in many shapes. So you can have the longer pieces or the more round ones. You can find it from around two weeks before Easter pretty much every day but not throughout the year.
Easter bread
For Easter in Sardinia, you will find the traditional bread known in the local language as “Coccoi cun s’ou” which translates into bread with the egg. Coccoi is the typical bread that remains harder and crunchy on the outside and softer inside.
Made with durum wheat, you will find “coccoi” bread all year round but obviously without the egg because that’s an Easter symbol. However, even though the local bakeries make this type of bread every day because it’s one of the most common on the island, the one they make for Easter is going to be much more decorated, sometimes smaller in shape, but always wrapped around an egg.
Pardulas
One of the reasons I love spending Easter in Sardinia is that it’s the season for one of my favorite pastries. They are called by different names, pardulas, formaggelle, casadinas, but they are always made with ricotta and lemon.
Depending on the town and the bakery where they are made, they are more or less puffy and their heart more or less soft. No matter the style, they are always delicious. The pardulas are very common during Easter so you will find them both made by the local bakers and also by the townspeople.
Lamb
Lamb is traditionally the dish made for lunch on Easter Sunday both in restaurants and local homes. In local homes, they will likely have roasted lamb with potatoes, while restaurants might use it in different ways in more elaborate dishes.
What to pack for Easter in Sardinia
- Sunscreen. Fair skins should wear sunscreen, but I suggest it to anyone planning to go to the beach in Sardinia or to spend a day out hiking because it can become quite warm and sunny.
- Hat. For more protection especially when you are out in the wild, a hat can be more convenient and sometimes essential.
- Sunglasses. In Italy, we wear them all year round, but April starts the season when sunglasses are useful for anyone.
- Backpack. If you are planning to go sightseeing or on a day trip out in nature for Easter in Sardinia, a backpack comes in handy to carry your belongings, a bottle of water, food, and your camera.
- Walking shoes. This is the season for day trips out in nature so packing a pair of comfortable walking or hiking shoes is a must.
- Long-sleeve tops. Great for layering, especially because April in Italy is a transition month
- A fancier outfit. In case you want to attend religious celebrations or book a restaurant meal, you can pack a midi skirt for women or a pair of fancier trousers for men, a blouse or button-down shirt, and an elegant jacket.
- A fancier pair of shoes. Women can wear decollete or ballerinas, while for men a pair of camper-style shoes will be enough to match your fancy Easter outfit.