26 June 2012

Fête des Limace - the Procession


The church service is over and the priests, along with the Penitents, make a procession through the village. There are penitents from Gorbio, Menton, Monaco and Nice and also from Ceriale, Dolceacqua, Savone, Cunéo et Impéria - all in Italy. The procession is followed by villagers and many visitors who come to Gorbio to witness the Fete des Limaces.

There is not one electric light burning in the village - the only light is from the snail shells.
The procession stops in front of each of the three temporary altars where the priest conducts a blessing.

Tomorrow: the extraordinary and touching story of Louis' Virgin.


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Le service à l'église terminé, les prêtres et les Pénitents partent en procession à travers le village. Il y a des pénitents de Gorbio, de Menton, de Nice, de Monaco et aussi de Cériale, de Dolceacqua, de Savone, de  Cunéo et d'Impéria - tous en Italie. La procession est suivie par les villageois et par de nombreux visiteurs qui viennent à Gorbio pour assister à la fête des Limaces.

Il n'y a aucun éclairage électrique dans le village - la seule lumière provient des coquilles d'escargots.  Le cortège s'arrête devant chaque reposoir où le prêtre procède à une bénédiction.

 Demain: l'histoire extraordinaire et émouvante de la Vierge de Louis.


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4 comments:

  1. Unknown26 June, 2012

    Very interesting. Thanks for sharing with us. Have a great day.

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  2. Oakland Daily Photo26 June, 2012

    This has been a wonderful series. The images are magical and the story stirs the imagination.

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  3. Nikon27 June, 2012

    I love the warm glow of the light coming from inside the church.

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  4. Jilly27 June, 2012

    Nikon, actually that isn't the church. The procession is about to pass under an archway and the light you see in the archway is from the candles the Penitents are carrying. Confusing I know! They have already left the church and are making their procession up into the village, hence the archways. The candles are inside a protective 'thingy' - will post tomorrow!

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