Salvo Alibrio's photos capture Sicily's Holy Week emptiness during coronavirus

Sicilian photographer Salvo Alibrio (Ragusa, 1988) has documented the Holy Week ceremonies in Palazzolo Acreide during the coronavirus lockdown, producing stark black-and-white images of empty streets and deserted altars. Palazzolo Acreide, a Baroque town of just over 8,000 inhabitants, is normally known for two explosive religious festivals: San Paolo in June and San Sebastiano in August, where the carrying of the saint's simulacrum triggers a wild, near-illegal crowd frenzy that authorities tolerate due to fierce devotion. Alibrio, already recognized as the town's visual chronicler of these orgiastic celebrations, was commissioned last year by Dolce & Gabbana for their spring/summer 2020 advertising campaign. For Artribune, he now presents exclusive images of the absolute voids left by the cancelled Easter rites. "We Sicilians have a particular bond with Holy Week," Alibrio says. "Think of the hooded procession of Enna. These ceremonies release the same roar as the feasts of San Paolo or San Sebastiano." One striking image shows a smartphone rigged on a tripod in front of the altar, live-streaming Mass to parishioners' phones — a practice previously reserved only for the infirm. Alibrio fears this and other new habits born of the pandemic may become permanent. His work echoes Helga Marsala's recent description of the power of iconic language in Pope Francis's nighttime blessing over an empty St. Peter's Square.