Penitents leaving the bloody procession for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Guardia Sanframondi, Campania, Italy

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Residents of Guardia Sanframondi, a little community in the Campania region, in South Italy, have marked fot centuries the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with a procession. It takes place every seven years and is marked by acts of flesh-and-blood penance. The Guardia's procession is one of the few examples of its kind still enduring in Europe. The penitents tap against their bare chests with disks of cork pierced by needles, creating red patches of raw flesh, and sometimes blood.

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Size: 4256px × 2831px
Location: Guardia Sanframondi, Sannio, Campania, Italy
Photo credit: © Luigi Mastromarino / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: assumption, benevento, blood, campania, catholic, flagellants, guardia, hoodeds, italy, mary, penitents, religion, rites, sanframondi, sannio, tradition, vergin