From Mexico’s day of the Virgin of Guadalupe to Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day, passing through Venice’s St. Mark’s day, patron saint celebrations are heartfelt events across the Catholic world. But in Sicily, festivities for cities’ patron saints include a unique tradition: street singers performing “songs of cart drivers.”
As explained in the blog “Sicily: Culture and Food,” Sicily’s carts are a unique expression of the island’s idiosyncratic culture.
While hand carts were used in many parts of the world to transport goods and produce before the advent of motorized transportations, in Sicily they are still preserved as objects of cultural value. Sicilian carts can be richly decorated, with botanical and religious motifs or illustrations of everyday life. The island even hosts a dedicated museum, the Museo del Carretto Siciliano, in the town of Bronte.
As explained by Alberto Samonà, Regional Councilor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, Sicilian carts are keystones of Sicilian culture.
“Cultural heritage is not made up exclusively of monuments and collections of objects, but also includes all the living traditions passed down by those who came before us,” Samonà said. “Beyond its practical function as a means of transport, the Sicilian cart takes on, in our culture, a symbolic meaning that spans various spheres, becoming an emblem of Sicilian identity itself.”
Sicilian hand cart culture revolved around two key figures: the cartmaker and cart driver. The cart maker was both a carpenter, crafting sturdy vehicles that could take on long voyages along cragged unpaved roads, and an artist, decorating carts with bright colors and motifs reminiscent of the well-known Sicilian tilework.
The cart driver was obviously a driver, able to conduct carts filled with goods and produce, often travelling alone for days at a time from village to village, but also a storyteller. It is to the cart driver that we owe one of the most iconic Sicilian storytelling traditions, that of the “Cantu di li Carritteri,” literally the ”Song of the Cart Driver.”
Usually performed solo, a cappella, the “Song of the Cart Driver” is often played by ear, with performers improvising lyrics along a recognizable melancholic tone.
The origins of the “Song of the Cart Driver” tradition are unclear. Some say that cart drivers used to playfully compete with each other over who could sing the best song while stopping for water and food along their long journeys. Others see the ”Song of the Cart Driver” as an evolution of the “planctus,” a type of sorrowful song that was popular across France, Italy, and Spain during the Middle Ages to lament the loss of loved ones or defeat in battle.
Either way, it is only in Sicily that this unique type of street entertainment took hold, becoming a cornerstone of local identity. This centuries-old practice is kept alive today. Performances of "Cantu di li Carritteri” are an inextricable part of local celebrations, especially during festivities held for honoring patron saints.
In Palermo, during annual celebrations for Santa Rosalia, performers sing a dedicated “song of the cart driver” dedicated to the beloved patron saint.
In the nearby town of Bagheria, during celebrations for the feast of St. Joseph, locals march in the historic streets of the city center riding richly decorated carts and mopeds. The usual cacophony of sounds typical of town fests stops only to honor the traditional “Song of the Cart Driver.” Sung entirely a cappella with just the support of a microphone, it is so powerful that for a few minutes the entire feast seems to stop, enchanted by the heartfelt emotions conveyed in the chant.
And in Catania, during annual celebrations for the feast of St. Agata, some of the melodies played by the marching band are inspired by ancient “songs of the cart drivers.”
This unique tradition is so beloved by Sicilians that since 2020 the Italian region has been applying to UNESCO to officially recognize the island’s cart culture and its “Songs of the Cart Driver” as part of humanity’s intangible heritage.
