The video, made for UNESCO by the community of Macerata Campania and NGO Associazione Sant’Antuono & le Battuglie di Pastellessa, with simple smartphones, tells the idea that faith and culture are a lifeline while the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic puts a strain on communities with repercussions on the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage.

And the feast of Sant’Antuono of Macerata Campania proves it ! In the past 2 months, our lifestyle has changed and, unfortunately, we have had to “postpone” some of our traditions and customs.

The best word right now is “postpone” because our living heritage, our traditions will never disappear if we make them live, updating them to the pandemic context without blocking them and trying to make them live in a different way.

The distance to which we are forced seems to divide us; the video - which reproduces the music of Sant’Antuono against evil - shows us, however, that faith and traditions and a sense of belonging to the community, to the family, are strengthened and unite around our identity symbols, give us hope if we don’t break their thread.

We make them live, reinterpreting them, and soon, very soon, that door will open ! We will get up and there will come a time when all this will be only an unpleasant memory.

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