Religious processions
Despite a certain distance from the Catholic faith, religion and its ancestral rites still represent, even today, essential moments of popular culture on the island of Elba, and in Italy in general. One only has to look at the very strong reactions of the clergy to the ban on masses decreed during the first Italian confinement, a strict confinement introduced on 9 March 2020 to curb the coronavirus epidemic. For several centuries now, traditional festivals have occupied a very important place and set the rhythm of the islanders' lives. Each locality has its own events, such as in Marciana Marina, in the western part of the island, where August 12 is a great feast in honour of St. Clare (santa Chiara), the patron saint of the town. A long ritual procession gathers many faithful around the statue of the patron saint, escorted to the sea.
Traditions
Nowadays, the island of Elba continues to honour some traditional festivals related to history, legends and popular devotion. Several traditions are nowadays lost, but others, on the contrary, are widely followed, especially religious festivals, often accompanied by traditional recipes. The Holy Week(Settimana Santa) and the Ascension(Ascensione) are solemnly celebrated to the rhythm of processions. At Easter, the schiaccia di Pasqua is prepared, which is left to rise for 100 hours, to eat a different kind of bread from the daily bread. Likewise, it is impossible to imagine a Christmas on the island of Elba without schiaccia briaca, a traditional dessert once given to sailors going to sea. Particularly celebrated in Italy, the Thursday fat(giovedì grasso) is celebrated around the classicfritters (frittelle) made with rice or semolina. The Maggio, which is sung in the countryside, particularly in San Piero (located at the foot of Mount Capanne), is probably the most important popular tradition still alive. For the Elbois, the Maggio is the homage, every night on 30 April, to the men who sing under the windows of the unmarried women of the village. These traditions demonstrate the deep meridianity of the Elba.
The Innamorata
It has become the most popular and participatory festival on the island of Elba, born from an ancient legend passed down orally for centuries. Every 14th July, a historical procession in period costume parades at dusk through the narrow streets of Capoliveri and then on to the beach of Innamorata, illuminated by a thousand torches. The preparation involves the whole town, gathered together to celebrate this tragic story of love and death. According to the legend, two young lovers, Lorenzo and Maria, were secretly meeting on the beach of Innamorata. But one July 14, 1534, Lorenzo was attacked by a group of pirates who landed on the beach. From the rocks, helplessly, Maria watched this terrible scene and saw the dying body of her beloved thrown into the water. In a last surge of love, she let herself fall into the sea..
