Porto Empedocle – weekend after July 16
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
It is the oldest festival in the country and dates back, precisely, to its origins. Indeed, when fishermen and their families arrived fromancient Girgenti, they brought with them devotion to the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel, to whom they eventually dedicated a church.
Even today, the fishermen are the stars of the three-day festival. Very characteristic and evocative is the traditional sea procession of the simulacrum of Mary, depicted with baby Jesus and St. Simon Stock, an English religious who was prior of the Carmelite Order.
Also on the program of the patron saint’s festival are the “games at sea” held at the harbor’s western pier and the Festival of the Frying Pan with the freshest fish fritters offered to visitors.
