traveldk.com

In Italy the festival of the Epiphany is personified by La Befana, a witch-like hag flying in on a broom who delivers gifts to good children and puts “lumps of coal” (actually sweets) in the shoes of naughty ones.

The irrepressible Pulcinella is lord of this ultimate blow-out in Naples, just before the austerities of Lent begin. Lasagne is the traditional dish to indulge in, and masks and partying are very much a part of this age-old celebration. Kids in particular get the chance to choose their fantasy persona and parade around in all their finery.

In Italy, Pasqua (Easter Sunday) and Pasquetta (Easter Monday) are both important, as is the week leading up them in some towns. Good Friday processions are held around the Naples area, with an especially rich one on the island of Procida. Pasquetta is traditionally a day for outings – picnics, weather permitting, being a top choice to celebrate the advent of spring. Near Sant’Anastasia, 15 km (9 miles) east of Naples, a festival is held at the sanctuary of the Madonna dell’Arco.

On the first Sunday in May is the first of a thrice-yearly event during which the blood of Naples’ patron saint – who has seen the city through earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and football championships – flows again. The miracle is received with a hysteria seldom seen in this day and age – a manifestation of age-old faith that involves flower-bedecked processions of the saint’s effigy through the old quarter.

The feast day of St John the Baptist also sometimes sees his blood boil – a phial of it is ensconced in the church of San Gregorio Armeno. Otherwise, the saint is traditionally remembered in charmingly pagan ways, linked to the summer solstice: night bathing, magicians and the gathering of walnuts to make nocino , a liqueur prepared for late autumn.

Every summer, Naples’ tallest belltower is “burned” in commemoration of a legend that recounts how an icon kept here, the Madonna Bruna, saved it from being destroyed by fire. An array of fireworks are dramatically set off at the climax of the festivities.

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary marks the height of the summer season, when almost every shop and restaurant is closed. Pozzuoli stages a contest of climbing a greased pole, while Positano re-enacts a landing of Saracen corsairs.

Once a highly elaborate affair, today the event involves a song competition and theatrical events, as well as fireworks and street parties. It all centres on a 14th-century sculpture of the Madonna and Child.

Celebrating the Immaculate Conception, this festival opens the Christmas season; nativity scenes go up and the Guglia dell’Immacolata (see Spaccanapoli to Capodimonte) becomes the focal point of pious activity.

At Christmas the streets around San Gregorio Armeno are full of shoppers looking for items to complete their nativity scenes, and there are special concerts in churches around the city.