Easter in Amalfi: amid spirituality, tradition and timeless beauty.
In the heart of the Amalfi Coast, Easter in Amalfi is more than just a holiday: it is an experience that engages the soul and the senses. Ancient religious traditions are intertwined with the timeless charm of this city by the sea, giving those who visit authentic, intense and deeply moving moments.
The city is thus preparing to celebrate Holy Easter-a moment experienced with great intensity by the entire community-with a program of events through which the city’s great anthropological heritage is renewed, discovering the most authentic and profound faith of the people of Amalfi.
Opening the Easter celebrations on Monday, April 14, 2025, is the play “Trentadenari – Trial of Judas” by theKaleidos Association with an unpublished text by Alfonso Minutolo and the participation of the Cantate Domino Chorale of Amalfi. An itinerary that unfolds until Easter Eve, Saturday, April 19, 2025 with “The Passion – The Story of Jesus from the Eyes of the Centurion” in Sebastiano Somma‘s masterful interpretation.
After last year’s success, Kaleidos returns to enliven the Arsenal on April 14 at 8 p.m. (free admission) with a show full of pathos. In a timeless court, Judas Iscariot is tried for his treason. The prosecution paints him as the symbol of betrayal and perdition, while the defense seeks to reveal his motives and the context of his actions. An allegorical court conducts the trial as historical witnesses take the stand, bringing arguments both for and against the defendant. As the debate rages between justice and eternal condemnation, Judas pleads for a fair judgment, raising profound questions about free will, repentance, and mercy. The feeling left by “Trentadenari” is that the verdict will not be on him alone, but on all of humanity.
Between musical and theatrical paraliturgical repertoire, Enzo Oddo, Alfonso Liguori, Maria Nolli, Antonio Amatruda, Giuseppe Pisacane, Anna Maria Esposito, Luigi Sommariva, Rosario Fronda, Lara Manzi, Cristiana Antonicelli, and Luciana Esposito are on stage. Production assistant Orlando Buonocore.
The performance on Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. (free admission) is already expected to be sold out. Also accompanying Sebastiano Somma in the recital “The Passion” are Melos Ensemble and the voices of Gospel Italian Singers.
““Truly this man was the son of God!” Already for some time I had been reflecting on the figure of the centurion … – Sebastiano Somma tells – I wondered how it was possible that a Roman centurion faced with the drama of the Passion could have made such a statement. Jesus forsaken by his friends, mocked by his people, insulted, beaten to a pulp, and finally crucified with thieves and perhaps murderers inspires a pagan totally unrelated to Jewish tradition to make a statement that has entered the gospels and history“. A play that tells the story of Jesus as seen through the eyes of the Centurion
On Good Friday, as the sun sets, Amalfi is extinguished and illuminated only by the evocative lights of torches and braziers, which accompany the nighttime procession of the Dead Christ, one of the most intensely felt religious traditions carried out by the Royal Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows. A moment characterized by strong participation and drama. A moving collective ritual, with the silence broken only by the voice of the choir: the lights of the Battenti street lamps advance through the darkened city, opening the procession of the 19th-century statue of Christ followed by the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. After passing through the entire city, the Statue of Christ is laid in the church in Municipio Square: Our Lady of Sorrows then returns, alone, to St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
The program of events is accompanied by liturgical celebrations, starting on Palm Sunday and throughout Holy Week, up to the Easter Pontifical Mass in the cathedral, with a procession to the baptismal font.
