In the city of Modica in Sicily, on the occasion of Easter Day, an ancient popular ritual called the “Madonna Vasa Vasa” is celebrated every year.
The statues of Christ and the Mourning Virgin come out of the church where they live looking for each other through the crowded streets.
At the stroke of noon, when the Madonna finally sees Christ, she frees herself from the black mantle and white doves fly into the sky. Surrounded by a devoted crowd, the Virgin blesses and kisses her son three times. The name “Vasa Vasa” derives from this symbolic gesture.
Through ten illustrations, with my colleague and friend Alfredo Covato, we reinterpreted the most significant moments of the modican Easter rite, from the mourning of Mary to the joy of them meeting.