San Rosalia.Who has not heard the curious history of San Rosalia, the saint of Palermo, whose name is prefixed to this article? She was, according to the legend, the daughter of William the Good, who reigned in the year 1159. At the age of fifteen she retired to Monte Pelegrino, in order to spend the remainder of her life in religious solitude; and a period of nearly five hundred years elapsed without her ever being heard of. In 1624, a plague, which threatened to depopulate the capital, raged at Palermo. A hermit, whose name is not given in the legend, dreamed that the bones of the saint were on the top of Mount Pelegrino, and that, if they were carried in procession round the walls of the city, the plague would cease. After prayers and supplications, he induced a number of persons to go in procession to the top of the mountain, where the remains of Rosalia were found in a cave. Some say that the body was fresh, and looked as if she had died at the age of fifteen, while others assert that there were only the bones. Which account is the true one Peter Parley does not pretend to inquire; but one thing is certain, that they were carried round the city walls, and the plague greatly ceased.This was accounted as a miracle, and churches were built to her honor. A chapel was erected on the top of the mountain were she was found, and priests appointed to perform divine service.mountaintop caveTo facilitate the approach to these sacred relics, the pious and grateful Palermotans, after immense labour, constructed on the face of the mountain a road which is nearly perpendicular, and very dangerous. This, however, by no meansoperates as a check to the devotion of the hundreds who seek the protection and patronage of the saints.In the vault beneath the chapel, which has long been the resting-place for her bones, there was an inscription, which differs from the monkish legend. It states her to be the daughter of Count Sinibaldus, who lived at the period when the irruptions of the Saracens were so frequent in Italy, and that Rosalia first retired to a cave on Mount Quesquina, in order to preserve herself from the disciples of Mohammed, and afterwards to Mount Pelegrino, where she died a nun.The bones of this Saint are now annually carried about the City in a large silver box; and, according to popular belief, she has, several times since her discovery, saved the Sicilians from the plague. Long before the celebration of the festival she becomes the subject of general conversation, and excites the greatest interest. Her triumphal car is made of very great height, and drawn through the principal streets by a number of caparisoned mules, preceded by dragoons with trumpets. On the lower part of the conveyance is an orchestra, and above it is a small temple, in the interior of which are figures of different saints, and, on the top of all, a large statue of San Rosalia. Every side of the carriage is decorated with flowers; and during the ceremony the streets are crowded with people, and the windows, to all of which are balconies, are filled with ladies. At night there is an illumination.The amusements at this Palermo rejoicing vary each day. One night the Flora gardens are illuminated, on another one of the streets, and, in the day-time, horse-races. The latter, from their peculiarities, are worthy of notice. The horses start from the bottom of the principal street, near the PortoFelice, and run to the Porto Nuovo. They have no riders, but have small bladders fixed on their backs, in which are inserted sharp spikes, serving by the motion to urge them on. The prizes run for are generally small, consisting of from ten to fifteen ounces in dollars, fastened to a board; and the horse that wins is led in procession, with the prize before him.The illumination of the Madre Chiesa, which is the cathedral church of Palermo, excites the admiration of all travellers. It is here where the box containing the bones of St. Rosalia is deposited. The last ceremony is a grand procession, in which the silver box is carried by the principal citizen. Immense crowds endeavour to get near it to touch it, for they consider it a remedy for all evils.The approach of the festival produces general joy and happiness; and the people are so attached to the memory of the Saint, that it is supposed that any attempt to suppress her commemoration would be attended with the most serious consequences.Rose decoration
Who has not heard the curious history of San Rosalia, the saint of Palermo, whose name is prefixed to this article? She was, according to the legend, the daughter of William the Good, who reigned in the year 1159. At the age of fifteen she retired to Monte Pelegrino, in order to spend the remainder of her life in religious solitude; and a period of nearly five hundred years elapsed without her ever being heard of. In 1624, a plague, which threatened to depopulate the capital, raged at Palermo. A hermit, whose name is not given in the legend, dreamed that the bones of the saint were on the top of Mount Pelegrino, and that, if they were carried in procession round the walls of the city, the plague would cease. After prayers and supplications, he induced a number of persons to go in procession to the top of the mountain, where the remains of Rosalia were found in a cave. Some say that the body was fresh, and looked as if she had died at the age of fifteen, while others assert that there were only the bones. Which account is the true one Peter Parley does not pretend to inquire; but one thing is certain, that they were carried round the city walls, and the plague greatly ceased.This was accounted as a miracle, and churches were built to her honor. A chapel was erected on the top of the mountain were she was found, and priests appointed to perform divine service.
mountaintop cave
To facilitate the approach to these sacred relics, the pious and grateful Palermotans, after immense labour, constructed on the face of the mountain a road which is nearly perpendicular, and very dangerous. This, however, by no meansoperates as a check to the devotion of the hundreds who seek the protection and patronage of the saints.
In the vault beneath the chapel, which has long been the resting-place for her bones, there was an inscription, which differs from the monkish legend. It states her to be the daughter of Count Sinibaldus, who lived at the period when the irruptions of the Saracens were so frequent in Italy, and that Rosalia first retired to a cave on Mount Quesquina, in order to preserve herself from the disciples of Mohammed, and afterwards to Mount Pelegrino, where she died a nun.
The bones of this Saint are now annually carried about the City in a large silver box; and, according to popular belief, she has, several times since her discovery, saved the Sicilians from the plague. Long before the celebration of the festival she becomes the subject of general conversation, and excites the greatest interest. Her triumphal car is made of very great height, and drawn through the principal streets by a number of caparisoned mules, preceded by dragoons with trumpets. On the lower part of the conveyance is an orchestra, and above it is a small temple, in the interior of which are figures of different saints, and, on the top of all, a large statue of San Rosalia. Every side of the carriage is decorated with flowers; and during the ceremony the streets are crowded with people, and the windows, to all of which are balconies, are filled with ladies. At night there is an illumination.
The amusements at this Palermo rejoicing vary each day. One night the Flora gardens are illuminated, on another one of the streets, and, in the day-time, horse-races. The latter, from their peculiarities, are worthy of notice. The horses start from the bottom of the principal street, near the PortoFelice, and run to the Porto Nuovo. They have no riders, but have small bladders fixed on their backs, in which are inserted sharp spikes, serving by the motion to urge them on. The prizes run for are generally small, consisting of from ten to fifteen ounces in dollars, fastened to a board; and the horse that wins is led in procession, with the prize before him.
The illumination of the Madre Chiesa, which is the cathedral church of Palermo, excites the admiration of all travellers. It is here where the box containing the bones of St. Rosalia is deposited. The last ceremony is a grand procession, in which the silver box is carried by the principal citizen. Immense crowds endeavour to get near it to touch it, for they consider it a remedy for all evils.
The approach of the festival produces general joy and happiness; and the people are so attached to the memory of the Saint, that it is supposed that any attempt to suppress her commemoration would be attended with the most serious consequences.
Rose decoration