Santu Lasi in Calimera, the saint of the “craunari”

On February 3, Calimera celebrates an ancient rite in honor of San Biagio, “San Biagio alla Macchia”. The Salento scholar Silvano Palamà told the story of the devotion of the Carbonari of Calimera to San Biagio, popularly called Santu Lasi.

Santu Lasi means San Biagio

Every year in Calimera the ancient tradition of walking from the center of the town to the San Biagio farm and then inside it, to the semi-underground church dedicated to the saint, a short pilgrimage of about three kilometers, which culminates with the celebration of Mass, is renewed. These are the celebrations of San Biagio alla Macchia, so called because they were held in the center of the woods, the macchia, in fact.