Therefore, a representation of the Passion of Christ is back, unique in Italy and in the world and which this year aims to sell out, with
about 35 performances from June to September
which recall
in an amphitheater of 4 thousand square meters
tens of thousands of spectators from all over Italy and around the world, from the United States to Australia and Japan. In 2015, around 31,000 spectators participated from Italy, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Poland, USA, Ecuador, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and other countries.
The Confraternity of the Banner –
For over 200 years the inhabitants of Sordevolo – a center of just over 1300 inhabitants in the province of Biella located along the path of the sacred mountains, between Oropa and Graglia – have been staging a popular theatrical performance unique in Italy and in the world. The spectacle of the Passion, as we know it today, was born two hundred years ago, but its origins are much more remote. In Rome, between the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Compagnia della Confraternita del Gonfalone recited a text of the Passion in the Colosseum. The first printed edition always comes out in Rome in 1500-1501. The text is by the Florentine Giuliano Dati and, over the centuries, thanks to the link between the Ambrosetti, important Sordevolese weavers, it arrived in Sordevolo, with the papal curia or thanks to the Confraternity of Santa Lucia di Verdobbio, a small fraction of Sordevolo, which was affiliated to the Confraternity of the Gonfalone of Rome. The manuscript was found in deck XII of the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone archive and is now kept in the Vatican Secret Archives.
Jerusalem, 33 AD –
The scenography, made entirely with the means and skills introduced by the citizens, reconstructs a fragment of the Jerusalem of the year 33 AD: the palace of Herod, the Sanhedrin, the Praetorium of Pilate, the garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room, Mount Calvary . All twenty-nine scenes therefore take place in the 2400-seat amphitheater built specifically fifteen years ago and in which artists of the caliber of Ennio Morricone have also performed in recent years. In recent years, the Associazione Teatro Popolare di Sordevolo has promoted the setting up, in the premises of the seventeenth-century church of S. Marta, of a permanent museum on the tradition of the Sordevolo Passion, open from June to October every Sunday and also on all dates of the shows.
Numbers and dates –
These are the numbers of the Sacred Representation: 29 scenes for more than 2 hours of acting in each replica; over 4 thousand square meters of amphitheater; 80 thousand working hours, without counting the value of volunteering; 400 actors (42 spoken parts and 360 extras) aged between 5 and 80; 300 people “behind the scenes” of the performance; about 35 performances, from June to September; over 4 thousand square meters of amphitheater. And an estimated 1 million euro for the area’s economy. The performances will be held on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (except in June, weekend only) from 18 June to 25 September, mainly in the evening at 9pm, with some afternoon shows.
Culture and spirituality –
A territory, that of Sordevolo, rich in spirituality and culture. What was the holiday area of Piergiorgio Frassati (originally from Pollone, a municipality bordering Sordevolo), but also of Cesare Pavese, Leone Ginzburg, Benedetto Croce and many other protagonists of the last century want to return, thanks also to the Passion, to the center of major national tourist itineraries.
For more information: www.passionedisordevolo.com