San Gerardo 2017 - Potenza
The city of Potenza ignites and transforms every year at the end of May in honor of its patron saint, San Gerardo. For the people of Potenza, this event represents much more than a simple religious festival: it is an intangible yet deeply felt boundary line, a psychological and seasonal watershed between old and new, cold and warm, winter routine and summer hopes.
The Fine Line of Waiting
In common Lucanian sentiment, the figure of the Saint is associated with popular proverbs rooted in daily life. Historical sayings like «If the Saint hasn't passed, it isn't warm yet» or «If the Saint hasn't passed, school isn't over» perfectly express this transition. Until May 30th, the day of the solemn procession, the city lives in a state of suspended anticipation. Spring finally surrenders to summer only when the bust of the Saint passes through the streets of the city center.
In my video documentary (made during the 2017 celebrations), I wanted to explore this exact sense of temporal suspension. Rather than documenting the formal events of the parade, I turned the lens toward the quiet preparations, the gazes of elderly people looking out from balconies, the buzz of historic alleys, and the flow of time in this mountain city. Waiting becomes a metaphor for the human journey, where every moment precedes an announced and desired change.
The Connection with the Community
The festival unites the Potenza community, reinforcing a deep sense of collective identity. The streets fill with sounds, historical songs, and impromptu encounters. But this great energy also has a hidden and weary side, which I explored in the twin photographic reportage The Dark Side of the Feast, focusing on the parallel lives of itinerant street vendors who populate the peripheral streets during the days of the festival.
Until "Lu Sant" Passes is a visual homage to Potenza, its people, and that annual ritual that, with reassuring punctuality, reminds us of the importance of memory and belonging.
Roberto Lacava
