WORDS Daniele Foti-Cuzzola
Two major events of Fremantle join forces aiming to become the biggest
Italian Cultural Festival
in the Southern Hemisphere
It is not every day that one witnesses a medieval tradition in a hipster city such as Fremantle
W
hen Italian migrants made the courageous decision to move to Australia, they did not just leave behind family and friends but also their cherished traditions. The “Festa del Santo Patrono” – the feast in honour of the Patron Saint – was and still is the most important religious and social event in ones town or village. In Western Australia, the Italian community established a number of festas to display their devotion and affection to saints including Saint Anthony, Saint Joseph and Saint Leo, but none of the festas are as well-known or attracts as many people as “The Blessing of The Fleet” in Fremantle. While the port city of Fremantle is now home to a number of Italian migrants from various parts of Italy, the first members of the Italian community were mostly fishermen from Capo d’Orlando (Sicily), the Aeolian Islands and Molfetta (Puglia). These fishermen were accustomed to grand processions and religious celebrations in their hometowns, in which the local priest would bless their fleet to ensure a safe and prosperous fishing season. The first fishermen arrived in the early 1900’s but it was not until 1948 that those from Molfetta organised the first Blessing of the Fleet celebration. In 1954 the Molfettesi were joined by their Sicilian counterparts and since then the “Madonna di Capo d’Orlando” and “Madonna dei Martiri”, Patron Saint of Molfetta, have been affectionately paraded around the streets of Fremantle on the last Sunday of every October. The Blessing of the Fleet is a spectacle to behold. It is not every day that one witnesses a medieval tradition in a hipster city
12 FROM WA