The three-day celebrations in honor of the Patron Saint of Catania Saint Agata begin on February 3rd with the offering of the wax. The day begins with the release of the candelabra from the main streets of the center which precede the parade of the Senate Carriage, inside which are the main institutional and religious authorities of the city.
For the people of Catania, the date of February 3rd inevitably coincides with the beginning of the celebrations of Sant'Agata. Even before the famous fires of the "sira o' tri", the processions begin with the parade of the Senate Carriage. This year the tradition was not held due to the health situation, but the moments of the Carriage parade and the Candelore procession are among those awaited the longest by devotees and non-devotees, precisely because they coincide with the start of the celebrations .
From the courtyard of Palazzo degli Elefanti, the procession travels along part of Via Etnea to reach the Church of Sant'Agata alla Fornace (San Biagio) in Piazza Stesicoro. In religious silence the procession of the offering of the wax begins. (ph Mimmo Rapisarda)
In recent years, groups of girls have taken up the tradition of the "Ntuppatedde" who parade cheerfully with their white robes, veils partially covering their faces and flowers.
Traditionally, the arts and crafts corporations paid a contribution for the illumination of the church or the altar of the patron saint and the procession of the luminaria was made up of around thirty votive candles to represent them.
Having reached the Fornace (carcaredda), the place of the martyrdom of Saint Agatha, the procession, with the candlesticks and the carriages of the Senate, is the moment of the offering of the wax which takes place in religious silence and ends in the Cathedral before waiting for the the last act of the day in Piazza Duomo with the fireworks on the evening of the 3rd (ph Salvo Puccio)
