Good Friday in Barga is celebrated every 5 years with the procession of Gesù Morto -- the passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
This year there have been some changes to the event so that the traditional candlelight procession around the walls of the city has been replaced by the “Via della Croce” following the Stations of the Cross set up in various locations throughout the city with graphics by Giuseppe Di Giangirolamo.
Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary.
The object of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ.
Commonly, a series of 14 images will be arranged in numbered order along a path and the faithful travel from image to image, in order, stopping at each station to say the selected prayers and reflections. This will be done individually or in a procession most commonly during Lent, especially on Good Friday, in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during his passion.
Processione di Gesù Morto : 2007