Every 5 years in Sordevolo, in the Elvo Valley, we remind the event that marked the history of humanity: the Passion of Christ.
The territory goes on stage: more than 400 residents play the role of actors and give life to an exciting open-air show, in which the Passion of Christ is reconstructed, in a 4000 m2 amphitheater. Over 30000 spectators from all over the world flock to witness the performance live.
The Passion of Sordevolo is a rare form of folk choral theater, a tradition documented in Sordevolo since 1814, and handed down continuously for two centuries from generation to generation.
Uniqueness is also given by the double version of the show: the passion of adults and the passion of children. Everyone tries with commitment and dedication to honor a centuries-old tradition.
To discover the territory, remember the story of Christ and get excited together, you can visit the permanent Museum of the Passion, set up in the choir and sacristy of the Church of Santa Marta in Sordevolo.
The territory is able to offer outdoor activities in unspoiled nature, traditional local dishes, breath-taking views, but above all a unique show of its kind in Italy, of great historical, cultural and religious value.
The Passion in Numbers
The history
In the only edition of 1901 we can read
“Without going very far back in time, and not even to the performances before 1850, because the committees of those days did not have safety regulations like those from 1850 onwards.”
This first quotation indicates in which part of Sordevolo the Passion was performed before 1850, “either in the square or in the various yards”. This was repeated by Alessandro d’Ancona in his 1891 book on the origins of the Italian Theatre.
The Play
Villagers from Sordevolo have been giving life to a Sacred play portraying Christ’s Passion once every five years since 1816. Four hundred people take part three evenings a week from June to September. There are actors, extras, musicians, stage operators. The passion Play is based on a 1496 script by Bishop Giuliano Dati, which was first staged in the Colosseum in Rome in the fifteenth century.
It is performed in an area of 4000 square metres, which is transformed into a corner of the Holy Land. People of all ages, social and cultural backgrounds volunteer to put in for a total of 75,000 hours of work.
The Kids’ Passion
The Passion is a social and cultural phenomenon, so totalizing that children are not only engaged in the main representation, but they also have their own show!
A representation whose protagonists are the kids of Sordevolo (and the neighbourhoods) from 5 years of age, who stage the same text autonomously.
The Amphitheatre
The Passion is performed in The Pope John Paul II Amphitheatre which holds 2400 people
Photographs of the Amphitheatre
Scenery of the 2010 production
Scenery of the 2015 production
