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Summer Solstice in Avola Antica: St John’s Eve with Raw Sicily

  • Jun 15
  • 3 min read

On Sunday 21 June 2026, Raw Sicily Trip celebrates the summer solstice in Avola Antica, in the province of Siracusa (Syracuse), with “St John’s Eve: rituals and legends in Sicily”: an evening dedicated to Sicilian folk traditions, ancestral rites, Hyblaean ethnobotany, oral storytelling, frame drums and the flavours of the land. Now in its fourth edition, the event blends anthropological research, ritual music, plant lore and rural culture in one of the most evocative hill villages of south-eastern Sicily.


St John’s Eve in Avola Antica, in the heart of the Val di Noto

St John’s Eve is one of the most meaningful occasions in Sicilian folk culture: the moment when the summer solstice meets ancient ritual gestures — gathering herbs, preparing the purifying water, lighting the fire, singing, and the rites of passage.

In Avola Antica — a village a few kilometres from Avola, Noto and Siracusa, set in the Hyblaean landscape of the Val di Noto — Raw Sicily Trip turns this memory into a living, immersive and collective experience. Not merely a show, but a moment of reconnection with the land, with tradition and with the folk memory of Sicily.


Paolino Uccello and the ethnobotany of the Hyblaean Mountains

Among the protagonists of the evening is Paolino Uccello, ethno-anthropologist, naturalist, writer and co-founder of the Hyblaean Museum Network (Rete Museale Iblei). A deep connoisseur of the folk traditions and rural medicine of the Iblei, he will guide participants through “Plants and words that heal”: recognising herbs, their symbolic and ritual use, solstice myths and the sacredness of plants in the St John tradition.

The evening will feature the central stages of the rite:

  • recognising plants and their uses;

  • preparing the purifying water with the seven herbs;

  • lighting the sacred fire;

  • reciting the ritual invocations;

  • casting the twelve herbs;

  • the comparatico bonding rite;

  • collecting the propitiatory ashes to take home.


Songs and drums: the Curamunì and the Coro del Mare

The ceremony will be accompanied by the Curamunì, Maurizio Battista and Roberta Gionfriddo, researchers and performers of the songs of Sicilian folk medicine, turning the musical moment into a sonic journey of healing, oral memory and collective catharsis.

Also taking part is the Coro del Mare, an all-female project born from an idea of Peppe Di Mauro and now led by Tiziana Palumbo: through drums, songs and ancestral mantras it brings to Avola Antica the sounds of rituals of fertility, protection and connection with Mediterranean culture.


An evening dedicated to Peppe Di Mauro

The 2026 edition is dedicated to the memory of Peppe Di Mauro, master percussionist, researcher and a key figure in promoting the frame drum in Sicily. His artistic and human legacy lives on in the musical, ritual and collective experiences he inspired, rooted in the Hyblaean land, folk music and the spirituality of rhythm.


Flavours of Sicily: arancini, cannoli, wine and botanical cocktails

During the Open Kitchen, arancini and cannoli from the historic Pasticceria Corsino of Palazzolo Acreide will be served: arancini in several versions, including vegetarian, and cannoli filled to order. Paired with the rural wine of Cantina Frasca of Modica and a selection of botanical cocktails, also alcohol-free, by Bar Buonafiglia with Amaro Nepèta. Food, wine and drinks become an integral part of the experience, in dialogue with the rites, the songs and the memory of the territory.


Programme — 21 June 2026

  • 5:30 PM — Guided botanical walk. Recognising herbs with Paolino Uccello.

  • 7:00 PM — Open Kitchen. Arancini and cannoli from Pasticceria Corsino, wine from Cantina Frasca and botanical cocktails from Bar Buonafiglia.

  • 7:30 PM — Rites and celebration begin. Ancestral ceremony with Paolino Uccello, the Curamunì and the Coro del Mare.


How to take part and how to reach Avola Antica

Participation involves a €15 contribution, including the 2026 annual APS membership (food and drinks not included). Clothing suitable for the cool hillside climate of Avola Antica is recommended; those who wish to take home the propitiatory ashes can bring a small glass jar. To take part, skip the queue and reserve your place, online membership is required.

Avola Antica is reached from Avola by heading up into the Hyblaean hinterland, a short distance from Noto and Siracusa.

Why take part

Taking part in St John’s Eve in Avola Antica means experiencing something culturally, ritually and territorially authentic, blending nature, folk tradition, anthropological research, music, food and community. Raw Sicily celebrates the less touristy, deeper Sicily: the one of herbs, stories, ancient gestures, drums and shared flavours.



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