MIDDLETOWN — In a very special visit, 54 residents and dignitaries from Melilli, Italy, including its mayor, will be in town for this weekend’s St. Sebastian Feast in their sister city of Middletown.
This year is Middletown’s 104th annual celebration, while Melilli’s St. Sebastian Church festival began in 1414. While residents of Melilli have attended Middletown's festival before, this will be the first time so many residents and dignitaries from the sister city have come.
St. Sebastian was a Christian saint and martyr who lived from the years 256-288 and is the patron saint of both cities.
Every year, the three-day festival, which runs Friday to Sunday, attracts between 3,000 and 4,000 people, according to Chris Serra, feast co-chairman along with Mario Mazzotta and Angie Magnano. Coincidentally, this year's culmination on Sunday is the same day the new pope, Pope Leo XVI, will be installed as the new pontiff.
The contingent, who will stay with local families, will also include former mayors of Melilli and 15 members of the Melilli Symphonic Band.
Middlesex Music Academy on Main Street will be supplying their instruments, said Sandra Russo Driska, coordinator of the Downtown Business District.
Authentic cuisine will be featured, including sausage and peppers, pizza, fried dough, Italian ice, arancini and homemade pasta.
The Italian visitors will have a booth set up with locally produced items, such as bags, clothing and soaps. They’ll be there all weekend to talk to the locals about Melilli and answer questions, Russo Driska said.
Serra, son of Middletown’s late mayor and longtime common councilman Tom Serra, has taken part since he was 2. He watched his father help carry the statue and platform around the block decades ago.
The committee chooses an individual who experienced tragedy in their lives over the past year as the main statue carrier, Serra said.
Joey Carta Jr., who had a "widowmaker" heart attack at 44, was pronounced dead, then revived by first responders, added Serra, who will also carry the statue.
“It is heavy, but you don’t think of the weight," Serra said. "You think of the sacrifices our patron saint made, that Jesus Christ made for us."
Following Sunday Mass, the I Nuri, clad in white clothing, red sashes, barefoot or in socks, and carrying red carnations, converge on the Roman Catholic church from two locations.
They chant "E Chiamamulu Paisanu, Primu Diu E Sammastianu," an Italian phrase that means "He's one of our own. First God and then Saint Sebastian.''
Russo Driska has participated since she was born. Although she hasn’t run with the I Nuri for 10 years, she will this year with her daughter.
Her mother, always active in the church, was in a bad accident last year.
“I made a petition to the saint that if she was OK, I’d run,” Russo Driska said. “She’s OK, so I’ve got to run.”
Watching the I Nuri filling Washington Street is an emotional experience, Serra said.
“You get chills throughout your body, and your eyes get a little bit watery with happiness and sadness,” he said. “A lot of memories of the parish run for family members who passed away. They’re honoring their history and their life.”
The juxtaposition between Mass and the spectacle outside is a remarkable one, Serra said.
“The church is a really quiet space for your own thoughts, and all of a sudden, you have the I Nuri coming in, and they’re yelling,” he added. “It gives you a charge of togetherness, of faith, of pride and your past history — your heritage."
Inside the church, devotees cover a statue with dozens of trinkets and a cascade of dollar bills. Visitors will also be displaying religious relics from their country in the church hall, Serra said.
“Everybody in that building is connected, and you feel very uplifted that we all go through trials and tribulations,” he said. “This is our way of thanking St. Sebastian … for protecting us and sacrificing for the faithful."
For the first time, two bands will take part in the parade around the block: the city’s own Sam Vinci Band at the lead, and Melilli Symphonic Band at the rear.
Although he’s never traveled to Melilli, Serra has set a goal of visiting his sister city within five years.
“I want my children to experience that … We all think it’s very important that passes on to our children, especially in today’s times when faith is lacking sometimes," he said. “When our kids see the amount of devotion and dedication we have to our religion and our heritage, they’re going to understand why.”
The location of Middletown's church is very reminiscent of Mellili, Russo Driska said, in terms of the entire community living nearby, which she also does.
Russo Driska experienced Melilli’s festival in 2015. Everyone there participates, she said.
“It’s so different from here," she said. "Here, St. Sebastian Church is in the middle of the city, which encompasses many other churches and religious groups. Here, it’s just one of many. For us to have a festival after 104 years and be able to share that culture with the community — it’s really incredible.”
The new bishop of the Diocese of Norwich, the Rev. Monsignor Richard F. Reidy, will lead Mass.
There will be some amusement rides, moon bounce houses for the kids and a Middletown Fire Department touch-a-truck.
The event runs Friday from 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
May 12, 2025
Reporter
Cassandra Day is an assistant managing editor with the Middletown Press. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist and resident of the North End of Middletown who has been reporting nearly every facet of the city for over two decades.