In Ontinyent, Holy Week has been marked with public ceremonies since the 15th century. The oldest brotherhood is the Ecce Homo, known as the Capeta de la Sang, founded at the end of that century; the Soledat brotherhood dates from 1610. Today there are eleven, many of them founded by trade guilds: papermakers, farmers, carters, carpenters, butchers, textile workers and the town council.
Two treasures by Benlliure
Among the sculptures carried in procession are two works by the renowned sculptor Mariano Benlliure: the Crist Jacent (Recumbent Christ), given to the town by the textile manufacturers in 1943, and the Soledat, paid for by the council in 1944.
The most moving moments
- Palm Sunday: Stations of the Cross.
- Maundy Thursday: the Procession of Silence winds through the medieval Barri de la Vila in darkness, lit only by torches, in complete silence.
- Good Friday: morning processions, the Encontre Dolorós (Sorrowful Meeting) in the Plaça Major and, in the afternoon, the Holy Burial, the only procession in which all the images take part.
- Holy Saturday: the Nit dels Panderos. After burning the Velles Quaresmes (Lent figures), children drag panderos —tins and bits of iron tied to ropes— through the old town streets, with drums, whistles and rattles, singing the traditional Easter song.
Check each year's programme in the Events section.
