La Squilla

December 23rd is a day more important than Christmas at Lanciano. It's La Squilla, a tradition unique in its kind, the world over. It seems an ordinary Christmas day but in the evening, from 6 to 7, you can hear a continuous ring coming from a little bell (that is called La Squilla). People give best wishes to all and everyone makes peace, although they had quarrels before. However, others remember old grudges, while less fortunate ones recall the dead or imagine desired gifts. Personally, I think that my fellow citizens spread all over the World stand with us. La Squilla is dating back to the end of 1500, when Archbishop Paolo Tasso, and his pious believers, went for a short pilgrimage along 3 Km, from the Cathedral to a small church in the Iconicella countryside. This religious duty symbolized the way of the Virgin Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem to take a census or the shepherds' walking as far as Jesus Christ 's cave. This traditional happening has been flourishing again since 1984, on December 23rd.

The Town of Lanciano – The Church of contrada Iconicella (XVII century)