Chapter 38: The Good Show of Santa Rosalia's Remembrance Day (Twilight Night)

There is a huge reservoir built in the early Roman era outside the palace of Palermo. Its function is to prevent the water from being cut off after the siege. Relying on the terrain, this reservoir was built into a ladder shape. After many years, the reservoir became dry. In the small basin, a lot of houses gradually appeared around the edge of the reservoir, and eventually it became a square.
Although today ’s King of Sicily, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, has almost never been to Sicily, this square holds a grand gathering in the name of the King every year to declare the ownership of Aragon ’s royal family to Sicily. Kingship.
As for other major festivals, it will also be held in the square, such as the Santa Rosalia Memorial Day is a very grand day, especially the last torch prayer, and only such a place is suitable for the kind of ceremony with the Roman era style .
Although Western Rome had long ceased to exist, and Eastern Rome was also destroyed by the Ottoman Empire decades ago, many things from the Roman era have remained, not only architecture, but even some customs that actually do not conform to Catholic regulations. It has not been completely banned, and even the church itself has inherited or borrowed certain Roman habits from many places.
A tall pile of firewood stood in the center of the square. Torches in the hands of countless people swayed in the night, illuminating the outline of the palace above him, and vaguely illuminating the prominent figures standing at the gate of the palace.
Gomez wore a black velvet robe embroidered with gold palm leaves. The robe was long and dragged to the ground. Although this dress was somewhat nondescript, but it also put his already fat figure quite majestic. .
People noticed that Osbourne had not been seen. Although it was impossible to stand among the nobles as a tailor and formally participate in the ceremony, he could always wait beside him as a tailor tailor for Miyazaki, but now Osbourne has not Appeared, which made many people guess that the rumor that the tailor has fallen out of favor is probably true.
Alfonso did not participate in the bishops ’meeting. After all, he is still a priest, so when the eleven Sicilian bishops walked into the chamber of the Cathedral of Assumption, he could only stand outside and watch the two The deacon closed the door tightly from the outside.
However, Alfonso is going to hold a torch prayer ceremony with Gong Xiang today, standing in front of the palace gate and looking at the sloping down square, which can hardly see the edge. : "The one who is expected is always as wishful."
"Priest, any expectation is desire, so we are guilty," Gomez rarely looked serious on his face. Although he sometimes appeared cruel because of anger, he only made people afraid to get close because of fear. "May God forgive all our sins. "
"God bless me." As he said this, Osbourne was standing at the entrance of a dark-looking ramp that looked down. The ramp led all the way to the ground. There was no light in it, and there was a chill The cool breeze blew up from below, making a "whistling" sound, which made the inside look even more horrible.
When I saw that the crowd on the gypsy show street was not far away, Alexander already understood why the French wanted to keep the gypsy after the anniversary, and they must be performed in this place.
Although the Capuchin monastery is not a hidden monastery, it does not usually come and go often. Nowadays, when so many people come and go suddenly, it will inevitably attract the attention of people around, but if it is an important day and there is a performance Where there are many people, no one will notice whether the dozens of people have entered or left the monastery.
Because there was such a cover, when Alexander followed him into the monastery of the monastery quietly and entered through the half-open gate, the excited and noisy crowds all around did not notice their actions.
As soon as I entered the door, there was a strong smell of torch rosin, but even this did not hide the faint smell, watching the two people dragging a soft thing to the corner behind the pillar, Alexander knew The origin of the smell.
"I said don't kill people casually," Osborne seemed not very happy. He whispered to a tall man with a bald head, "This is a sacred monastery."
"The man shouted when he saw us coming in," the man said dismissively, a big golden ring on his right ear dangling, showing a typical alien breath. "We have no way, you said you can't Leaky wind. "
Osborne snorted, but said nothing more, and then he looked back at Alexander: "It seems that you are right, these fools killed a monk, now it depends on whether you can help us find you That entrance. "
Alexander nodded, and there seemed to be only one monk left in the monastery. Everyone else went to Our Lady ’s Assumption Cathedral to participate in today ’s night prayer. The only guide was now killed. It seems that he really can only rely on him.
It was just that it was impossible for Alexander to directly bring these desperate men to the entrance of the tomb. Not to mention that it might cause suspicion. The difference of hundreds of years also made him unable to find the location of the entrance of the tomb for a while.
Following the position of this place in the memory, the monastery was dim and silent. The noise of the hustle and bustle was smaller as we walked in. Finally, only a group of people walked on the stone floor.
"It should be here, I have seen Michelangelo's sketches where there is a wall here."
Alexander stood and paused slightly in front of a door and pushed it gently. With the creak of the squeak, the door opened slowly. Under the reflection of torches and swords, there were two very tough people first. Rushed in.
Behind the door is a long aisle, with torches on the wall, and the end of the aisle is very dark. When approaching, you can see the entrance of the semi-circular chute.
Is dark below, there is no light, even if there is a torch, the fire will soon be swallowed by the darkness in the crypt that becomes straight below.
"Who goes down first?" Osbourne licked his lips. He could regain the trust of the palace, and even for the first time, such an important task given by Gomez was originally very exciting, but he looked at this strange place. , He began to wonder if it was a bit stupid to grab it before.
"It's very weird," the bald man wearing gold earrings gasped. These people are not afraid of killing people, but they are less relaxed about strange things. "Let more torches, everyone be careful."
Said, the bald man lowered his head slightly and walked sideways into the crypt with a side-by-side look.
In front of the Palace Square, the torch prayer sound was higher than the wave. Under the starry fire, it was the Palermo people who recited the blessing psalm aloud. Although it was slightly messy, it gradually gathered into a voice. Drowning everything around, when a team of monks appeared at the gate of the palace carrying a dark coffin, people's emotions reached a climax!
Many years ago, the "Record of Miracles" saved in Palermo Cathedral once recorded that after the death of Santa Rosalia, when people burned the remains of Santa Rosalia in order to prevent infection, there was an incredible The miracle, after the flame burned for a long time and finally extinguished, people were surprised to find that Santa Rosalia ’s body was still intact, even her hair was not damaged. This miracle was recorded by a monk in the cathedral at the time Down, and the remains of Santa Rosalia are regarded as sacred objects and are preserved in the cathedral's cemetery.
She was sleeping in the catacombs with her, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and his wife Sicily Constance, and the couple ’s controversial, eccentric son of the Holy Roman Empire Emperor Frederick II.
But even with these noble "neighbors", Santa Rosalia is still so famous that even when her anniversary arrives every year, the priests of the cathedral will lift up her coffin to show the world, and then one of the most famous The ceremony is about to begin.
The coffin that patrolled around the square returned to the gate of the palace in countless prayers and praises, and then another coffin of the same shape was placed on the pile of firewood, and the smell of olive oil spilled on the wood overflowed. , A person who was completely wrapped in a black robes from head to toe, holding a torch to the woodpile, everyone held his breath, except for the crackling sound of the torch, this moment the square was surprisingly quiet.
"Everyone must end up with the world, because of the world's owes and original sins."
When Alfonso spit out this sentence lightly, the person holding the torch was raising his arms high ~ EbookFREE.me ~ As an arc flashed through the night, the torch was thrown far into the olive oil Firewood.
The sound of "boom ~" was first a near-transparent blue flame, and then the flame that gradually became red at the edge spread quickly along the surface of the firewood!
The greased firewood burned, the flame climbed up the pile, and soon it reached the top of the pile.
The coffin was ignited for a while, and the coffin and firewood crackled together.
"what!"
Suddenly, a woman close to the firewood shouted in horror!
She was horrified and pointed at the burning coffin at the top of the woodpile, and shouted. Then, more people joined the panic cry.
Because people were shocked to find that as the coffin could not be shaken, a burnt hand was stretched out of the cracked crack!
Then, with a faint scream, the coffin lid was knocked open from the inside, and a person with black smoke in his body, suddenly sitting up from the coffin!
There was an instant mess in the square. Everyone was frightened by this terrible scene. People shouted in horror, blindly crowded, people near the fire began to run down the frantically, and the people behind did not know what happened. What, when torches in the crowd ignited people's clothes in the chaos and caused more panic, terrible trampling began to spread in the square that had been completely chaotic.
Gomez was completely stunned by the sudden and terrible accident. When the two guards dragged him desperately to the palace, he didn't even know to turn around, so he was dragged into the palace with his back to the crowd.
Watching Gomez go away, Alfonso glanced towards the Capuchin Monastery.
"Start here and end here."