Every year on December 13th, in the territory of Crotone, a festival with very ancient origins takes place: the Fires of Santa Lucia; its precise origin is unknown. To celebrate it, boys and children build tall pyramid-shaped structures, almost unconsciously simulating torches: located in various neighborhoods of the city, competing with each other in terms of size. In the preceding days, the boys gather scrap wood: planks, old chairs, some furniture; which they nail together to form a pyre, at the top of which they used to burn a puppet, symbolizing the old winter and a precursor to the Christmas festivities. This particular folkloric festival is celebrated in honor of Santa Lucia, the patron saint of sight who, using fire and its light, seems to metaphorically shorten the ‘longest’ night of the year. Unfortunately, in recent years, this old tradition has been fading due to the continuous depopulation caused by the economic crisis. With this project, born in 2017, an attempt is made to bear witness to one of the oldest and most fascinating traditions of the territory.
