Antonio Alessandria’s Dies Auroræ is born from his early emotions and memories of traditions and culture in his home town of Catania in Sicily. Every February the patron saint of Catania, Sant’Agata, is celebrated with a sumptuous feast that goes back ages and is known worldwide for its high level of participation. 

As in any religious event, the sacred is strictly intertwined with the profane and the male devotion to the patron saint of the city is considered as a form of social belonging to the urban community. Especially in the past, the active participation to the feast, wearing the “sacco“, the white habit that devotees wear, was intended as being part of the true adult male community. Therefore the first participation to certain events of the feast was perceived by every young boy as a rite of passage to manhood. 

The religious procession officially starts on February 4th with a mass at the crack of dawn, called “messa dell’aurora”. Dies Aurorae is the olfactory tale of the emotions and memories of a little boy of around ten years who attends for the first time, along with his father, this ceremony. 

From the very early hours of the day, people crowd in front of the doors of the cathedral. As soon as the doors open, devotees make their way speedily down the aisle of the cathedral to secure their place as close as possible to the resting place of Sant’Agata. Then they spasmodically wait for the opening of the gates that protect the reliquary bust of the Saint singing ritual songs and screaming invocation.