Then the Farmers'
Gremio accompanies the mayor solemnly to the new residence of Palazzo Ducale.
On the occasion of the "Faradda"
the whole city joins in the festival. In the streets of the old part of the city the Candelieri are
decorated with coloured ribbons and holy pictures. The children copy the adults. They make
'mini' replica Candelieri' that they carry in procession from Piazza Castello along Corso Vittorio
Emanuele. This is the same route that the Candelieri who represent the Gremi follow a few
hours later.
Last year, perhaps for the first time, tourists had the opportunity to understand the meaning of
this celebration. A booklet, published in different languages, that explained the history of the
'Candelieri' was handed out in hotels and along the route of the procession.
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However the "Faradda" is most of
all a Sassari festival. A large number of emigrants return to the city to see the 'Candelieri's
Descent'. Every year the Azienda Soggiorno e Turismo (The Tourist Board) gives a prize to two
of the emigrants who come back on eve of the mid-August bank holiday. The so called
"nostalgia prizes" (one gold and one silver 'Candeliere') are given respectively to the emigrant
who has been living abroad longest and to the emigrant who has been living on the Italian
mainland longest.
In recent years a special prize has
been given to the citizen of Sassari or Sardinia who, through his work, has brought prestige to
the city or to the Island. Among the people who were awarded prizes of a gold candeliere are the
football player Gianfranco Zola and the advertising agent Gavino Sanna.
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