This morning we behaved as true Barcelonans and headed down the coast for an Easter weekend by the sea. Our destination was the Catalan coastal city of Tarragona.
Tarragona is the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian peninsula (founded around 218 BC - though evidence suggests a local Iberian tribe may have settled the area even before the Romans). The city is quaint and abounds with historical buildings and anicient ruins. Being here at Easter has allowed us to see a true mix of culture, history and tradition.
We were lucky enough to arrive just in time for the "collecting of the floats" prior to Tarragona's Procession of the Holy Burial in the old town area. Essentially, a group dressed as Roman soldiers proceed through town collecting floats for the procession. The floats are huge, ornately decorated scenes from the life and resurrection of Christ. Each float is operated by members of various religious orders who play drums and wear interesting robes while carrying their floats through town.
The collecting process takes several hours and occurs throughout the old town district. It was basically like a moving parade. Every few streets we would hear the beating of drums or the rythmic tap of the soldiers' spears. It was an immensely unique and intriguing experience. We ended up seeing the final float of the procession collected in front of the big 12th century catherdral (built on the site of an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Emperor Augustus).
The Tarragona Procession has been ongoing each Holy Week since the 17th century. Literally only wars, heavy rains and pandemics have interrupted its path. Since the 1600s the annual procession has only failed to occur 35 times (most recently in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
The organization and orchestration of this huge city-wide event was amazing and somehow still felt very intimate and sacred. Except for my child who considered it a parade of sorts and kept waving to the processioners and asking when the Easter Bunny would appear (cue international embarrassment). Thankfully most folks found her antics delightful.
She was treated to churros for good behavior on the way home.
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