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Author: Nio Gómez

Holy Week is, without a doubt, the most important celebration in Écija. Every year it is watched with fervour by citizens and visitors from all over the world, anxious to see the procession with its imposing artistic legacy that has centuries of history. Highlights include the sculpture of the Cristo de la Salud (Christ of Health) which dates back to 1500. Heirs to a centuries-old devotion, thirteen brotherhoods participate in Écija's Semana Santa. The image shows the imposing carving of the Cristo de la Yedra, a work attributed to Juan de Mesa and one of the most popular in the city. It is venerated in the 18th century Church of Santa Ana. The Christ is the protagonist of Easter Monday in Écija and belongs to the Brotherhood of La Yedra, founded in 1959 by a group of residents of the Puente neighbourhood.

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Author: Nio Gómez

Declared a Historic Site and considered one of the most important artistic centres in Andalusia, the City of Towers and Sun is surprising for its exceptional heritage. During Holy Week its rich baroque heritage stands out. In the image, we can see the titular figures of the Royal Brotherhood of Jesús Nazareno Hugging the Cross and Our Lady of Amargura (Brotherhood of Silence), founded in 1666. The image of Christ is part of the works of the workshop of Pedro Roldán, while the image of Our Lady of Bitterness was made in 1964 by the Sevillian artist Antonio Castillo Lastrucci. They participate in the Holy Friday morning procession of the Mayor Parish of Santa Cruz, built between 1776 and 1836.

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Author: Nio Gómez

The Holy Week processions of Écija stand out for their solemnity and baroque style. In these processions it is usual the participation of the Brothers with their accessories: guide cross, flags and insignia made with rich and ancestral embroidery. In the photo, we can see the group of Romans accompanying the coffin of Christ in his Holy Sepulchre, made in 1711 by the Sevillian Cristóbal de Yerpes in wood and covered with fine tortoiseshell leaves inlaid with sterling silver. The Jacent Christ, for its part, dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, and is part of the Real, Muy Ilustre, Antigua y Noble Cofradía de Nazarenos de Nuestra Señora en la Consideración de Sus Angustias y Soledad, Santo Entierro de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo y del Dulce Nombre de Jesús.

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Author: Nio Gómez

Among the numerous processions in Écija, some stand out for conserving in different degrees the so-called Ecijan style, as opposed to the Sevillian style. The Ecijan-style Passos were carried on the shoulders of men dressed in tunics and face covering. The images were placed on tall bases or baskets of square proportions as opposed to today's rectangular baskets, and were lighted by glass chandeliers. The crowns of the Dolorosas had resplendours, as we can see on many of the virgins of Glory in processions today. In the image, we can see the Holy Christ of Confalón, by an anonymous artist, sculpted in the 16th century. It is one of those carried in procession in the purest Ecijan style, especially because of its square proportions and because it is carried on the shoulders by a group of brothers dressed in the tunic of the Brotherhood and with their faces covered by a hood. It is carried on a 18th century gilded baroque base.

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Author: Nio Gómez

Apart from the particular itineraries maintained by each brotherhood, Écija's Semana Santa also stands out for maintaining an Official Procession through which all the floats have to parade during their paths. The photograph shows the Brotherhood of the Santísimo Cristo de la Expiración, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores and Jesús Nazareno de la Misericordia, founded in 1579, passing through the official path during their Holy Tuesday penitential procession. The Brotherhood preserves sculptures by José Montes de Oca, Rafael Amadeo Rojas, La Roldana and Pedro Roldán, who sculpted the Christ of Expiration in 1680. We can also see how the procession is followed by a Band of Cornets and Drums, together with other Sevillian-style musical groups, in the procession parades that maintain the Sevillian style.