"Saints" because in Diso there is no house, wall niche or shop in which does not house the icon of the Holy Apostles Philip and James, to whom the town is devoted, so much so that over time they have been called, almost familiarly, ' The Holy Nosci'.
The feast of Saints Philip and James (1-3 May) is a prodigious scenic machine and attracts thousands of people from different parts of Italy and Europe.
The cult of Saints Philip and James
The cult of Saints Philip and James, in Diso, is lost in time and by retracing its history backwards, nothing definitive can be found that could indicate its beginnings. There is only one certainty, therefore, and certainly not of little importance: for generations the veneration towards the two Apostles has grown year after year like a slow wave of high tide and covers the country, in which everything speaks and everything is identifies himself with the effigies of these martyrs of the faith.
There is no house, wall niche, and above all the heart of a person, within which the image of those who over the centuries have been defined, almost familiarly, as "The Holy Nosci" does not reside.
The liturgical feast of Saints Philip and James, in the past was celebrated on May 1st, was then moved to May 11th and today is celebrated on May 3rd, but the citizens of Diso, undaunted, have continued to celebrate the patron saints on May 1st every year, a fact which, in addition to underlining the pride in the veneration of the Saints, has strengthened the faith and tradition.
Not even back in 1889 when the day of May 1st, by resolution of an international congress, was proclaimed "work day", the citizens of Diso changed their tradition and therefore May 1st in Diso is essentially the feast of Saints Philip and James.
The celebrations in honor of the patron saints, certainly among the most solemn in the entire region, are now rightly part of the history, tradition, art and more generally of the culture of the Disina community.
The cocktail of lights, fireworks, band concerts , gives life to a mix of lights and colors that contribute to transforming the small town into a large stage, set up by some people gathered in a committee, careful that everything goes in the right direction and that in addition to attracting a flood of passionate devotees to the small town of Salento, not only from neighboring towns, but also from outside the region, it has become a fixed appointment for many disini who, despite being away, for work and study reasons, seek in every way to be present and demonstrate attachment to one's origins and to the Saints.
Although it actually begins on the twenty-first of April of each year with the display of the statues for the worship of the faithful and the beginning of the solemn novenary, ending on the third of May, the date set by the church for the liturgical feast of the two Holy Apostles, the feast in honor of Saints Philip and James in Diso, does not have a real beginning or a well-defined end, but continues to rotate continuously from year to year with ever greater fervor and attachment. even if every now and then some voices of criticism are raised about the exorbitant expenses necessary for its implementation. The people of Diso cultivate their devotion towards Saints Philip and James by proudly identifying with it and trying in every way to make it increasingly interesting and majestic in order to spread the faith towards its patron saints.
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[from Disio on Line ]
