Getaways

We would like to suggest a number of different places around Catalonia where Easter is celebrated with particular devotion with ceremonies and services that have centuries of tradition behind them, and which now form part of Catalonia's cultural heritage.

PALM SUNDAY: VIC PALM MARKET

Easter week starts with Palm Sunday, which marks a very important date in the Christian calendar.  From 12 to 14 April one of the city's oldest fairs is held in Vic, the Palm Market. Over the course of years this has become a major event for the agricultural and livestock industries to include farming exhibitions, the sale of agricultural produce, leisure, sporting and cultural activities, as well as horse shows and the farmers' market fair.
 
GOOD FRIDAY: THE PROCESSION IN VERGES

Another unmissable tradition, if you want to experience Easter at first hand, consists of the Passions and processions that are held in Verges in the Baix Empordà district. The event is held every Maundy Thursday and represents a mystery based on the book in verse by Brother Antoni de Sant Jeroni describing the drama of Jesus' last hours. The procession sets off at midnight and leads around the village streets, the only illumination being from lit torches. The much anticipated highpoint of the proceedings consists of the Dance of Death, a macabre performance, medieval in origin, in which five skeletons jump and dance to the sound of a drum.
 
GOOD FRIDAY: PROCESSION OF THE HOLY BURIAL IN TARRAGONA

Another important Easter week event in Catalonia is the Procession of the Holy Burial in Tarragona. It leaves from and, after a long procession through the city, returns to the Plaça del Rei. The procession involves more than 3,000 people and follows an order that is strictly determined by tradition. Each brotherhood has its own position in the procession, and is responsible for the number of times it proceeds along the route.
 
FROM FEBRUARY TO MAY:  THE PASSION OF ESPARREGUERA AND THE PASSION OF OLESA DE MONTSERRRAT

The Passions of Esparreguera and of Olesa de Montserrat are the two most important ones in Catalonia and have their origins in medieval mystery plays. The first documented evidence of the performance of the Passion of Esparreguera dates from the early 17th century. Nevertheless, the oldest is that the passion of Olesa, for which the first documentary evidence dates from 1530. If you would like more information, please consult the programme for the Passion of Esparreguera and the Passion of Olesa de Montserrat.
 
If you would like to know what activities have been organised for Easter this year in Catalonia, please consult the programme


Have we managed to inspire you? If you have any other interesting suggestions please send them to us on Facebook or publish your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #patrimonicultural