Varia di Palmi

Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures
Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Country	Italy
Reference	00721
Region	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2013 (8th session)
List	Representative

Varia di Palmi
Varia di Palmi
	Transporting the "Varia di Palmi" (2008)
Genre	Festival
Date(s)	Last Sunday of August
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	Palmi, Italy
Inaugurated	1582

The Varia di Palmi is a Catholic

Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady of the Sacred Letter. The event is the most important festival in the Calabria

region.

The Varia is a huge holy wagon that represents the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Above the sacred chariot, 200 "mbuttaturi" (carriers) carry 16 metres (52 ft) tall human figures: "Animella" (child representing the Virgin Mary) and human figures representing "Padreterno" God, the apostles

, and angels. The entire structure weighs 20 tonnes (20 long tons; 22 short tons).

The event includes a procession the day before, displaying the painting of "Our Lady of the Sacred Letter" and the shrine of the "sacred hair".

The event is part of a network of "Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures", inserted in 2013 in the list of UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. In addition, the Istituto Centrale per la Demoetnoantropologia ("Central Institute of Demoethnoanthropology") in Rome cataloged the event as "intangible heritage" of the regions of Italy and Rome. Palmi organizes the festival under the patronage of the Province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria and religious institutions.

The origins of the festival date back to 1582, when the

Virgin Mary

to the town of Palmi, in gratitude for the aid provided to the Sicilian town during a plague. As a result of this gift, Palmi Messina imported the tradition of celebrating the Assumption of Mary with a votive chariot that represents the event.

Since 1900, the Varia has had several awards, including the cover of an issue of La Domenica del Corriere, a postage stamp produced by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato and combined with a national lottery.

The event has been the subject of documentaries and profiles broadcast on Rai 3 (2009) and Rete 4 (2006), as well as live broadcasts on local stations and satellite.