It is with the commemoration of the Easter holidays that Corsica reveals to tourists, and especially in this part of the island which is marked by the most famous procession of Good Friday: Catenacciu of Sartene.
Hidden under an alb and a red hood, nobody knows each year who is the penitent designated to relive the Passion on the Way of the Cross. Chained (refering the name Catenacciu), with a heavy cross, he walks the steep streets of Sartene during a journey of nearly 2 kms which traces the ascent of Christ to Golgotha. He is accompanied by a white penitent (Simon of Cyrene) and eight black penitents symbolizing the Jews. All perform the Way of the Cross barefoot. They are surrounded by the members of the brotherhood of Santissimo Sacramento who form a hedge of honor and the crowd of the faithful who sing without interruption the old Italian song: “Perdono mio Dio”.
Porto-Pollo also has a tradition during this period: Easter Monday, nowadays celebrated by a carnival for the greatest happiness of the children. Formerly, Easter Monday was celebrated through a “great Mirendella”, a kind of picnic that was spent at the seaside and gave rise to great reunions with family and friends. The holiday of Easter Monday in Porto-Pollo attracted the inhabitants of the entire Taravo Valley, of which Porto-Pollo is the mouth, and gave the opportunity to the inhabitants of the mountain to go to the coast.