Procession San Pantaleone 1950 - (Abruzzo / Molise)

Brotherhood  San Pantaleone

Foundation year: 2009

City: Miglianico (CH)

Archdiocese: Chieti-Vasto

Artistic artefact (canvas, fresco, statue, etc.): Historical photography

Title: Procession with San Pantaleone Martire in Caramanico Contrada Piane - Miglianico

Dimensions: 10x15 cm

Year of execution: 1950

Description:  One of the moments of intense and participatory devotion of the cult of San Pantaleone in Miglianico (CH) is when the statue of the Saint is carried on the shoulder in procession from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, his current home, to the one located in Caramanico in the Piane district. . This procession is also called "of the Return" because in this place the statue was found, after it was hidden in an old furnace by some Basilian monks in the distant 1492 to save it from the predations of the Saracens who at that time used to go to this part of the Adriatic Sea. Later the statue was brought to safety within the mighty walls of the city of Miglianico, and this is remembered as "the Coming". The photo, dating back to the 1950s, was almost certainly taken by Antonio Toppa di Miglianico with an ancient room by hand with cloth. In 1961 the photographer Camillo Cavuti, also from Miglianico and worthy brother of the local Sodalizio dedicated to San Pantaleone, noting the artistic, historical and cultural value of the "shot" decided to reproduce it using a Lupa studio camera and a Ferrania plate. The image portrays the moment in which the procession arrives in Caramanico, at the point where the statue of the Saint also left the imprint of his hand which is still imprinted in the clay consolidated over time and clearly visible to an attentive eye. of the procession there is the Saint Pantaleone placed on the "Throne" (this is a wooden work dating back to 1700 and finely carved by local artists) and carried on the shoulders by the devotees who in number of four at a time took turns throughout the long path.The statue is preceded by two of his relics; the first dating back to 1712, with a reliquary of Neapolitan art, sealed by friar Francesco Della Croce, belong to the order of the Discalced Carmelite friars of Naples. The other, in a blessing hand, dated immediately after the war, was donated to the devotees of Miglianico by fellow villagers who emigrated to America, so that the benevolence of the Patron Saint also known as "the Merciful" could touch everyone and in particular the people of Miglianico. during the difficult period of post-war reconstruction. Note the presence of the local band accompanying the Saint and directed by the young Maestro Ernesto Paolini (bass drum) who would soon rise to national prominence as an appreciated conductor. , very participatory, it strikes for the joy it expresses: the faithful all wear the party dress, the ladies accompany their children and the presence of a newborn wrapped in a white blanket seems almost to invite to Hope and to abandon oneself without delay in the hands benevolent of San Pantaleone. The representation is also a glimpse of time, you can see a part of the River Foro with the embankment and the poplars, a "stampione", that is the pile of hay, and a small construction in earth and straw that could designate the place of the discovery of the statue of the saint in the 16th century. Currently the members of the Confraternity San Pantaleone and the Devotees carry the Saint on their shoulders, retracing, every five years, the path traced by their grandparents for "the Return" to Caramanico as a sign of connection to the Miglianichese Community that 'he welcomed him, he knew him and still walks by his side in moments of joy but also in those of difficulty and pain, always finding him a benevolent friend. (Miglianico 5 August 2021 Text by Enzo Giandomenico Documents collection by Giuseppe D'Aversa)

Author (with year of birth and death): Photographer Camillo Cavuti 1961