Tradition and spirituality coexist in the city during Easter Week, celebrations that most Tarragona residents experience intensely, regardless of their religious beliefs.
If the Part Alta, Tarragona´s historic centre, already exhibits charm during the rest of the year, the days of Easter Week turn it into a practically magical place of devotion, where the darkness, the sound of the Armats (armed soldiers) and the aesthetics of the floats (some by outstanding artists such as Josep Maria Jujol) are hypnotic, whatever one's religious beliefs may be.
On Palm Sunday, the various Stations of the Cross are organised by the brotherhoods and guilds that form part of the Agrupació d'Associacions de Setmana Santa de Tarragona.
The days of recollection of Holy Week culminate on Good Friday afternoon with the procession of the Holy Burial. Before the departure, the Armats collect each of the elements, church by church, one of the most typical acts of the celebration. The first documented proof of the celebration of this procession through the streets of the Part Alta (historic centre) goes back to the year 1550. Currently more than 4000 people group in 13 associations, brotherhoods and congregations and carry 20 pasos (episodes of the Passion of Christ) in this procession. The procession is preceded by the Armats who break the silence with the sound of their kettledrums.
This procession is considered as one of the most significant in the Mediterranean.
Don't miss it!:
DAY / TIME
ACTIVITY
PLACE
16/3, 19.30
Viacrucis (Stations of the Cross) of the El Serrallo
Church of Sant Pere, El Serrallo (the seafaring quarter of Tarragona)
21/3, 20.00
Viacrucis and procession of the Trinity or Gypsies
Streets of the historic centre
22/3, 19.45
Divendres de Dolors by the Gremi de Pagesos procession
Streets of the historic centre
23/3, 19.00
The Passion of Christ procession
Church of Sant Nicolau de Bari (Pau del Protectorat street)
24/3, 17.00
Palm Sunday procession
Church of Sant Joan (General Prim square)
24/3, 19.00
De la Sang viacrucis
Church of Natzaret (Del Rei square)
25/3, 20.00
Viacrucis from the Ermita de Sant Magí
Streets of the historic centre
26/3, 20.00
Dels Natzarens procession
Streets of the historic centre
27/3, 19.45
Procession of the Suffering of the Virgin Mary for the Passion of Jesus Christ
Church of Sant Joan (General Prim square)
28/3, 23.45
Viacrucis of the Germandat del Sant Ecce-homo
From Maria Cristina avenue to Loreto Sanctuary
29/3, 6.30
Processional viacrucis
Streets of the historic centre
29/3, 16.00
Collecting the floats (images and religious sculptures that interpret the Bible)
