Good Friday Black Procession

During Easter, ancient, sacred rites are renewed throughout the Sorrento peninsula. Good Friday is a day of suffering for the Catholics, for it remembers the crucifixion of Christ on Calvary. The meaning of the Passion of Christ is plainly visible in the numerous hooded processions performed in all towns of the Sorrento peninsula.
These processions are of ancient origin, dating back to the sacred representations of Mediaeval times and from the old penitential processions of Maundy Thursday during which members of the religious brotherhoods, dressed in robes and carrying lighted torches, wandered between the various Churches in adoration of the Holy Eucharist.
All the processions have an identical process in common regarding the symbolic objects carried by participants: the style of their robes - differing only in colour depending on the brotherhood, with preference given to white for the processions held at dawn on Good Friday and black for those held later that evening. In addition, the poignant chorus of the Miserere, with the musical band at the head of the processional cortège performing the famous funeral march from Chopin’s Opus 35. Very moving.