Easter in Ávila, events in a unique setting

Experiencing a unique and unforgettable Easter in an exceptional environment is possible if you visit Ávila. Within its beautiful historical centre and around its monumental wall the acts of greater religious fervour take place. With more than 500 years of history, Easter in Ávila has been declared a festival of international tourist interest. Discover the Holy Week of Easter in Ávila and its activities in a unique environment.

Ávila

In the province of Ávila, in the Community of Castile and León, is one of the cities with the most history: Ávila. Located in the shelter of the Sierra de Gredos, this town has been declared a World Heritage City because of its valuable architectural and monumental heritage.

Churches, Renaissance palaces, a beautiful historical centre and its wall are some of the major attractions of a city that has a large number of religious buildings that have historically linked it with the mystical life. They emphasize the Cathedral of the Saviour of Ávila, the Basilica of San Vicente or churches like San Vicente, San Pedro, San Jose, Santa Maria de la Cabeza or San Nicolás. All this makes up a historical-artistic ensemble that has made Ávila a National Monument.

Easter in Ávila

Fervour, silence and passion define Easter in Ávila and are spread among the thousands of people who watch the processional processions through the historic centre of the city to the sound of carracas noisemakers and lit by hachones candles.

More than 500 years of history lie behind Ávila’s Easter celebrations, where many activities are carried out in a unique setting. The processions, in which millenarian fraternities parade, are very special due to their history and tradition, and also special is the drama with which the city dresses up in an incomparable setting, where simplicity and austerity reign, a clear example of remembrance and fervour that is lived by the citizens of the town and visitors alike.

Torches, tunics and chants of the miserere fill the narrow, cobbled streets of downtown Ávila from Friday of Sorrows until Easter Sunday with more than 15 processions with 39 pasos or wooden religious sculptures that are carried on people’s shoulders. Chief among the events of the week stands out the procession of the Miserere on Holy Tuesday, the Procesión de los Pasos on Maundy Thursday or the Via Crucis de Penitencia that takes place on Good Friday in the old part of the city and that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Easter in Ávila has become a beautiful, traditional and emotional event, filled with unconditional dedication. The fervour, present in the silence and the prayer, the contemplation and the sobriety of the celebration praise even more the monumental city that welcomes, with so much feeling, the Holy Week of Easter in Ávila, one of the most deeply rooted in all of Spain.