La Faradda di li Candareri

The Faradda di li Candareri (“the Descent of the Candlesticks”) is Sardinia’s most important annual religious event and has been catalogued as part of UNESCO’s Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. According to tradition, the feast derives from a vow made to Saint Mary of the Assumption that, much like the vow made in honor of Sant’Efisio, on more than one occasion saved the city of Sassari from the plague.

Representatives of the 12 guilds of the city (the Associations of Arts and crafts) dance in procession along the streets of Sassari, carrying wooden votive columns (originally candlesticks) on their shoulders.

The feast begins with the dressing of the “candlesticks,” adorned with flags, and wreaths of paper and flowers, and then transported to the Piazza Castello where the parade starts. A marching band opens the procession, followed by the twelve candlesticks accompanied by the sound of the drums and pifferos, a double reed musical instrument. During the journey each candlestick swings between the crowd, or turns on itself, changing direction, before returning to its route. Every year candlesticks “twin:” two candlesticks dance together one in front of the other which reach a climax with the so-called “kiss” between columns: tilted into a bow, the two capitals touch.

After crossing the central streets of the city, the procession ends at the church of Santa Maria di Betlem, where the vow is dissolved and the festivities continue with concerts and pyrotechnic shows.