Chris Caravella's Virtual Tour of Ustica

Chapel of San Bartolicchio

The chapel is a small structure at the southern plain of Oliastrello I was fortunate to be on Ustica during the festival of San Bartolicchio which takes place at the site. This festival celebrates the early life of San Bartolomeo, the patron saint of Ustica. The saint, one of the original 12 apostles, is most famous because of his gruesome martyrdom in which he sufferred greatly but still kept his devotion to Jesus. Unlike the grand festival in August for San Bartolomeo, this one is primarily for the locals.

For the festival, the chapel was topped by lighted decorations, which were also strung across the whole festival area. The tiles of the chapel were obviously painted by the same artist that created the unique statuary of the church in town

The procession proceeded from the chapel down the road a way and then returned to the festival area. Padre Alessandro lead the group in prayer and song followed by the statue of young San Bartolomeo.

The mass, food and entertainment occurred in this huge pit across from the chapel. Food is prepared in a large wok that looked more like a flying saucer. Saturday we had fried crabs and squid and a live band played rock music. Sunday was penne pasta with recorded music and a drawing for a scooter.

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