St. Alfio Festival Celebrates Life of 3 Slain Brothers

Like most stories of saints, this history behind this festival honoring three brothers/saints called 'Festa di Alfio, Filadelfo, and Cirino' is the stuff of Hollywood movies -- violence, blood and tragedy.

In 250 AD, an edict was issued tha all Christians must demonstrate state allegiance by worshiping the emperor and the Roman gods.

Because brothers Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino came from a highly regarded noble family, Roman authorities hoped to get a public renunciation. After all, the Romans killed their mother when she failed to comply and their father had fled leaving them behind.

When the brothers refused to renounce Christ, they were sent to Sicily. The brothers landed in Messina on August 25, 252 AD and were turned over to a Roman patriot named Tertullo, notorious for his ruthless interrogation and torture techniques.

They were marched with a heavy beam strapped to their shoulders. The brothers arrived in the village of Trecastagni on September 1, where they rested for the night.

Word spread fast about the plight of the brothers. Miracles were said to take place in towns they passed through and their story inspired more Christian conversions.

The brothers were marched to Lentini, where their death awaited. Alfio's tongue was torn out with a pair of tongs, a gridiron set over coals for Filadelfo, and a cauldron filled with hot oil for Cirino.

All were martyred on May 10 (the day of the feast) - a fate that earned them the everlasting love and respect of Sicilians.

Their tombs remain in Lentini beneath the Church of Sant'Alfio.

Same Festival, Different Year -- circa 1900-1910

On May 10, 2007, we ventured to this very church at the center of Trecastagni (tray-ca-sta-ni), which translates to '3 chaste lambs' - an analogy for the three brothers. The town is about 10 miles from our home.

We drove but thousands walk from all over Sicily much farther than 10 miles. They walk from their hometown as a pilgrimage in honor of the saintly brothers who were marched across Sicily.

This turn of the century photo looks much like the crowd of today. It's what joy looks like when it overflows...thousands of grateful souls - spilling out into the streets.

The Joy of Gratitude

This was one of the first festivals I attended when we moved to Sicily in 2006. It was a joy to return again to Trecastagni as it's among my favorites because as an American I have never been privileged to group gratitude of this magnitude.

What these photos cannot capture is the energy of this event. It's electric - when thousands of people come together passionately thankful- giving credit to a higher source for the miracles and magic of their lives.

I find this notion so foreign having been raised in a self-centric culture that largely (but not exclusively) encourages us to credit ourselves for our own health, happiness, destiny and fortune.

A Wax Museum in Trecastagni?

At first, I thought these displays were macabre - back braces, replicas of body parts, children's clothes - all displayed in a church's chamber.

The truth is that these are very personal and joyful offerings from Sicilians of gratitude--tokens of appreciation for health, healing, recovery and life. These items were donated by families as an expression of faith rewarded.

Testament to Miracles

Displayed in this Trecastagni's church's anteroom are thousands of paintings on tin dating back to the 1800s. They depict families' stories of challenges overcome and misfortune conquered. They attribute these 'miracles' of safety, health and healing to the three Saints that they invoked for protection.

Note the dates on the paintings. And on most paintings you can see the three saints.

World War I - Divine Intervention by the Saints

My favorite section is the miracle testaments in Trecastagni devoted to World War 1. It offers a unique personal introspection to the war's experiences as told by survivors who believe they were protected by the saints.

Dubbed the "Garlic Festival" by Americans

Sigonellans call this the Garlic Festival because the Saint's Day dovetails with the garlic harvest in Sicily, and this extremely aromatic garlic is so fragrant and potent like no other.



While garlic bulbs are sold in woven vines, it's not a garlic festival in the sense of a commercial enterprise where celebrity chefs and restaurants erect street booths and sell samples their favorite garlic recipes.

These are salt-of-the-earth farmers in Sicily sharing their harvest.





Here’s the same garlic guy different day. I like this photo because you can see how huge the bulb is overhead in comparison to his head!

Festival Staples

Every destination has its festival staples. In Hawaii, it's portuguese malasadas, Filipino lumpia, and t-shirt sales.

Almost every Saint-inspired festival in Sicily have their own staples. Fresh coconut. Freshly made candy. And candle sellers.





Nut candy is made with carmelized sugar and pressed on a marble slab.



What a lovely way to showcase coconut snacks! Maybe Hawaii could adopt this Sicilian presentation.

Parade of Horses

The festival included a parade of several horses and musicians in all their jubilent pageantry.

Marty Hutchins 1962 - 2007: This One's for You Marty!

On Sunday, May 6th, Rob and I ventured to witness the spectacular Valley of the Temples of Agrigento.

Meanwhile, on that same day...in our parallel island paradise of Hawaii, Marty Hutchins, at the vibrant age of 44, peacefully passed away.

I worked with this Florida native at the Hawaiian Humane Society for two years and most recently had reconnected with him during my three-month assignment at the Humane Society in winter 2007.

He was then, as I always remembered him, funny with his wry, self-deprecating sense of humor, rigorously honest, rooted in reality, and passionately devoted to his work as an animal behavior expert -- helping cats and dogs find their way in an all too human world.

I used his desk while he was on sick leave and despite his absence, his volunteers all dutifully filed in day after day to keep his program running. Their loyalty to animal behavior support was only rivaled by their loyalty to Marty. In fact, on one occasion one of his people chided me that I wasn't keeping his desk tidy to Marty's standards.

Marty was very curious about our life in Italy. The night I left Honolulu, I left a bottle of Sicilian olive oil on his desk. He had very much wanted to experience a taste of Italy.

He never did get to enjoy that Sicilian olive oil or find his way to Italy....so my Agrigento travel log is for you Marty!

These temples that I walked through on the day you died will always remind me of you and how fleeting our time on this beautiful planet is. And while life is so very delicate, the legacy of a compassionate and joyful life well-lived does last forever in so many hearts.

I have never been more committed to making every day a dream come true. Thank you Marty!

Let me show you Agrigento!

Our guide says this olive tree is 2000 years old. Now that's a long life!

I am grateful for every year that I am old!

In those days, 28 was about as long as you could expect to live. And more than 75 percent of kids under the age of 10 died.

The dead were wrapped in two sheets with a layer of lime between them, and then burried in a fetal position in these sandstone cemeteries.

Building temples like these in 500 BC doesn't exactly promote long life.

The Bloody Temple

So fascinated with this temple's blood stains on its sacrificial altar that I didn't get the name.

Temple of Concordia

True to Roman and Greek religion, this temple faces the east where the sun rises in affirmation of light and life.

Temple of Herakles

Known for his brazen strength and power, Hercules is perhaps the most famous of Greek gods. In irony, his temple here lies in collapse but is the only one we visited where we could walk amongst its remains.

The Temple of Lunch

The perfect ending to a day trekking through the Valley of Temples. A 13-course seafood extravaganza on the waterfront. As usual, we were the only foreign diners -- eeking by in our broken one-word Italian pantomine with our beat-up dictionary.