A feast of people, not only because it brings together tradition, history and devotion, but above all because on this occasion Messina rediscovers itself together and ready to welcome those who arrive in the city of the Strait attracted by the call of beauty. The White Night for S. Antonio confirms a success: The effort of the Rogationist Fathers, supported by the municipal administration and the regional Department of Sport and Entertainment Tourism, was also this year rewarded by the significant presence of tourists, pilgrims, devoted, in the vast pedestrian area around the Basilica of via S. Cecilia. Thousands of people crowded until late at night and squares transformed for the occasion into a large itinerant open -air show: families, groups of friends, many young people, the 12th edition of the event that anticipates the great procession of the triumphant wagon of the Holy Taumaturgeo has offered everyone attractions and fun. In the Basilica the welcome, after the lighting of the musical lights in via S. Cecilia and the parade of the Banda di Santo Stefano Medio with great classical music – the artists of the Corelli Conservatory, the tenor Davide Benigno, the pianist Stefania La Manna – and the modern one with the very young Italo Bartolomeo Rotile back from the transmission of Rai Uno, The Voice Kids.
This morning at 11 the pontifical chaired by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, in the afternoon the procession of the triumphal wagon with the relics that RTP will follow live starting from 7pm.