Traditionally, the Cavalcata di San Giuseppe greets the arrival of spring. It takes place on the eve of the feast dedicated to St. Joseph.

A ride along the country roads in the light of large bonfires. In memory of the flight into Egypt of the Holy Family, the procession opens with a donkey on which are the Madonna and little Jesus, pulled with a rope by an old Saint Joseph.
Followed by dozens and dozens of horses caparisoned with special flowers, including wallflowers, “u balucu” in the Sciclitan dialect. The originality of the festival is precisely the way in which the horses are dressed: the floral decoration, in fact, incorporates drawings and reproductions taken from the life of the Saint or of the village.

The Cavalcade winds its way through the historic center and as it passes the “pagghiara” are lit, large bonfires prepared by the people in order to warm up and then prepare roasts. When the Cavalcade passes, people shout “Patria`…Patria`… Patriarca!”, and a great ringing of cowbells tied to the necks of mules and horses is heard.

Each horse has its own group of loyalists who direct and control it, only one person gets on the back. The groups are dressed in typical Sciclitani clothes: velvet trousers, a dark waistcoat over a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, a wide belt from which a red handkerchief hangs; on the head a “burritta co’ giummu” and in the mouth a cane or clay pipe.

Source: prolocoscicli.it