Tradition and contemporaneity
Religious events have a place of honour in the life of the village and in that of the whole Sicilian territory, but new and leisure initiatives are also followed and participated in.
In San Vito Lo Capo, on June 15, for the feast of the Patron Saint San Vito the Martyr, to whom the Sanctuary - a fortress built to protect the chapel of devotion to the Saint - is dedicated, there is the traditional procession through the streets of the village decorated with illuminations.
An important event, both from a religious and a cultural point of view, which is preceded by the rites of Holy Week throughout the province, among which it has place of honour is the Procession of the Misteri of Trapani, an impressive event that has taken place from Good Friday until the following day for over 400 years, during which twenty “vare” (platforms), decorated with flowers and candles, on which as many wooden statuary groups are placed, are carried on the shoulders of the "massari" through the streets of the historic centre of the city.
On the last Wednesday of August, the feast of San Vito follows that of the Madonna of Custonaci, patron saint of the entire Erice area, which has celebrated the tradition year after year since the 1700s, with the "landing". According to what has been passed down, a ship from Alexandria in Egypt, on which a painting depicting the enthroned Madonna and Child was being carried, was caught in a storm, prayed to the Virgin Mary and was saved, finding safety in the bay of Cornino.
Also of a Religious nature is the representation of the Living Nativity in the prehistoric cave of Scurati, which can be visited during the Christmas period, where, around the Holy Family, women and men stage the typical activities of the rural and artisan tradition of these places.
Of a completely different kind, is the most popular event in town, the San Vito Lo Capo Cous Cous Fest, an international festival of cultural integration, "built" around the main dish of the Mediterranean. It is a gastronomic event involving chefs from all countries competing with their own, different versions of couscous, and which welcomes thousands of visitors with tastings, shows and concerts.
