Festival of Saint Agatha in Catania | From February 3 to 6, 2025
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Sede: Municipio, Piazza Duomo.
CATANIA | Sicilia
comitatosantagata22@libero.it
Pec: comitatosantagata22@pec.it
Sede: Municipio, Piazza Duomo.
CATANIA | Sicilia
comitatosantagata22@libero.it
Pec: comitatosantagata22@pec.it
The Feast of Saint Agatha is the most important religious festival in the city of Catania. It is celebrated in honor of the city's patron saint, and it is one of the most attended Catholic religious festivals, precisely because of the number of people it involves and attracts.
The Feast of Saint Agatha is the most important religious festival in the city of Catania. It is celebrated in honor of the city's patron saint, and it is one of the most attended Catholic religious festivals, precisely because of the number of people it involves and attracts.
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SANT'AGATA UNESCO
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Candidacy for Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
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Agata is Catania and Catania is Agata
The Feast of Saint Agatha is the living soul of Catania, a centuries-old rite that has preserved and renewed the bond between the city and its patron saint over time. There is no page of the city's history that is not steeped in Agatha's presence: the people of Catania have always lived by entrusting themselves to her, finding in her protection strength, hope, and identity. That is why it can be said, without hesitation, that Agatha is Catania and Catania is Agatha. And yet, although the figure of the Catanese martyr is deeply rooted in the heart of the city, her story and her example transcend local boundaries: Saint Agatha belongs to Catania, but her spiritual strength and universal message belong to the whole world.
The Timeline
25 July 2025
18 August 2025
26 June 2022
The Municipal Council of the Municipality of Catania approves favorably the proposal for a resolution concerning: "Political guideline act for the candidacy of the Feast of Saint Agatha as intangible cultural heritage of humanity".
Establishment of the Promoting Committee and the Scientific Committee.
Programming session with Prof. Pier Luigi Petrillo, Coordinator of the Scientific Committee.
13 July 2017
06 July 2025
30 July 2025
Inclusion of the Feast of Saint Agatha in the REIS – Register of the Intangible Heritage of Sicily.
Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the candidacy of "The Feast of Saint Agatha in Catania" for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, between the Municipality of Catania, the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Catania, the University of Catania, and the Committee for the Feast of Saint Agatha in Catania.
First meeting of the Promoting Committee
Scientific Publications
Devotees Section
Committee Staff
This section collects scientific contributions from scholars and experts who explore the Festival from different perspectives
Discover the structure of the promoting committee that will oversee the candidacy for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage
Contributions and testimonies for the Feast of Saint Agatha. The importance of participation in a shared heritage.
Feast of Saint Agatha
From this indissoluble bond arises an aspiration that has always belonged to the minds and hearts of the people of Catania: to see the Feast of Saint Agatha recognized as a World Heritage. A deeply rooted desire that found its first institutional acknowledgment in 2017 and that, after years of waiting and preparation, took concrete shape in the summer of 2025.
On June 6, in the historic council chamber of Palazzo degli Elefanti, the representatives of the main city institutions – Municipality of Catania, Archdiocese of Catania, University of Catania and Committee for the Feast of Saint Agatha – together signed a Memorandum of Understanding that officially marked the start of the candidacy. A few days later, on June 30, that spirit of collaboration became operational reality: with a formal act by the Mayor of Catania the Promoting Committee was established, bringing together the four aforementioned entities at a single table and networking resources and expertise to support the candidacy process.
We are a community on a journey, made up of institutions and people united by the desire to preserve and enhance our most beloved Festival
The Promoting Committee is headed by the Mayor of Catania and includes the active participation of the Archbishop, the Rector of the University, and the President of the Festival Committee. Around this core, a collective energy has gathered: each founding body has, in fact, appointed its own representatives, and this has contributed to adding different skills to the team, all united by a single shared goal. Thus, a Scientific Committee has been established and a Technical Staff has been appointed, including qualified experts in the various fields related to the candidacy.
The role of the Scientific Committee is fundamental: it provides technical and scientific advice, delves into specific topics through working groups, and ensures that every step of the process is well documented and respectful of the Agatine cultural heritage. In other words, the scientific and academic community supports our journey, ensuring solidity in the drafting of the application dossier and helping to tell the world, in the best way, about the beauty of the feast of Saint Agatha.
From the Town Hall to the Cathedral, from the University to the associations of devotees, we feel we are part of one big team. There is no distance between those who administer and those who take part in the celebration: we all share the same responsibility and the same enthusiasm. The common thread that unites us is the awareness that the feast of Saint Agatha does not “belong” only to the institutions or a committee, but to all of Catania. And at the same time, its symbolic and spiritual strength goes beyond the city’s borders: what is born in Catania speaks to the whole world, because Saint Agatha is the heritage of her people but also a universal testimony of faith and freedom.
Precisely for this reason, from the very beginning, we have adopted an open and participatory working style, in which the voice of the citizens and the faithful could resonate alongside that of the authorities. The sense of shared responsibility is the driving force behind our daily actions: we know we hold in our hands a treasure of memories, traditions, and collective emotions, and we guard it with respect, humility, and dedication. Telling the story of our celebration to the whole world is an honor, but above all it is a duty to the community: it means taking care of a living legacy that has been handed down to us and ensuring that it continues to live on in the future.
United by the pride of belonging to an extraordinary history, we are ready to write together a new chapter, that of the UNESCO candidacy of the Feast of Saint Agatha. A recognition that, if obtained, would place Catania and its territory on a level of cultural and spiritual excellence, projecting the city towards an international dimension without ever severing the roots of its bond with the Saint.
Application process
The path towards the UNESCO candidacy UNESCO of the Feast of Saint Agatha did not arise suddenly, but has its roots in a long journey of recognition and civic commitment. In 2017, the Feast was officially registered in the Register of Intangible Heritage of the Sicilian Region (REIS), the first formal step towards the institutional protection of a tradition that has always belonged to the soul of Catania.
On that basis, in 2022 – despite the difficulties of the pandemic years – the city boldly revived the UNESCO dream: the City Council, in fact, approved a political directive that formally committed Catania to nominate the Feast as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In that document, the extraordinary nature of the event was highlighted, described as “the most attended religious event in Italy, the second in Europe, and the third in the world”: not just a devotional celebration, but an authentic social and cultural glue for a people.
From that point on, step by step, a path was traced that led to 2025. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on June 6th—a simple yet deeply meaningful moment—brought together at the same table the Mayor, the Archbishop, the Rector, and the President of the Festival Committee, symbolically united in the embrace of an entire city around its Saint. A few days later, on June 30th, intention turned into action: the Promoting Committee for the candidacy was officially established, an entity that has since guided and coordinated the process. The profound meaning of the candidacy is clear: not a bureaucratic act, but a collective process that tells how Catania, over the centuries, has always managed to rise again by entrusting itself to Saint Agatha.
But what does it really mean for Catania to walk towards UNESCO? First and foremost, it means taking care of its own heritage, preserving it and passing it on. The candidacy is an opportunity to collect, document, and enhance every element of the Festival: from the oldest religious rites to popular traditions, from songs handed down to the testimonies of devotees. It is a work of active memory that ensures nothing is lost, making sure that future generations can recognize themselves in what their forefathers have preserved for centuries.
It also means orderly growth: the Festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year, must evolve without losing its authenticity. The UNESCO journey thus becomes an incentive to strengthen safety, sustainability, respect for the environment and places, so that devotion remains
intact while the city opens itself to the world.
International recognition would then have an additional extraordinary effect: Catania would become part of a network of cities and communities that share similar traditions, and this would encourage cultural exchanges and twinnings. The Festival, already well-known and loved, would be projected onto a level of global excellence, making our territory a point of reference for religious and cultural tourism. At the same time, the recognition would be a concrete incentive for enhancement and an international showcase not only for the Festival of Saint Agatha, but for the entire cultural heritage – tangible and intangible – of Catania and the whole surrounding area.
But the greatest strength of the journey lies not only in the goal to be reached, but in the collective path the city is experiencing. The devotees, with their white “sack”, the candelore, the effort and the faith, are not spectators but protagonists. Alongside them, cultural associations, tourism operators, schools and the University are weaving together a participatory fabric that gives the candidacy its true breath. It is the entire people who recognize themselves in Saint Agatha and who move together to hand down their heritage to the future.
And even though today we do not yet know the final outcome of the candidacy, one certainty is already emerging: this journey is strengthening civic awareness, generating new skills, and creating tools destined to last over time for the protection of cultural heritage. It is making the people of Catania increasingly aware of the universal value of their Festival. It is already a heritage in the making, because it is bringing out what Catania has always known: that its destiny is inextricably linked to Saint Agatha. Whatever happens, the future will continue to be shaped by this collective rediscovery. And it will be a future of protection, growth, and participation. Because Saint Agatha is Catania, but her strength and her universal message belong to the whole world.