After three years of absence, the procession of the Varette in Messina returned on Good Friday this year. The Varette are large floats depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ, largely mirroring the Stations of the Cross. All are carried on the shoulders of willing volunteers, which due to the size and weight of some of the Varette takes a great deal of strength, endurance and faith. More properly, they are Barette, although the local Sicilian dialect has transposed the B to a V, but I’ll go with Varette, as that’s my uncle’s position on the matter.
The procession of the Varette has a long but broken history, continually interrupted by destruction of the Varette and their homes by earthquake, war and economics. The current Varette are mostly of 20th century design and construction, although some of the figures are much older. The most massive – The Last Supper and The Agony in the Garden – require 50 or more men to carry them. Even then, they can only be carried 30 or 40 metres before the smartly dressed crew chief gives the signal for a break. After a pause to re-gather their strength and grab a quick cigarette, the white clad bearers are again summoned to their task by a few sharp raps of a hammer on the Varetta.
The procession is accompanied by musicians and watched by a large part of the population of Messina, who line the streets or watch from their balconies. The route covers around two kilometres, and the bearers who start are the same ones who finish. An exhausting, and in many cases no doubt painful, expression of faith.
