ABSTRACT
In Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, Holy Week is characterized by intense expressions of devotion linked to the celebration of religious rites, popular customs and traditions, which attract a considerable number of worshippers, tourists and the simply curious. As well as local organizations, which recognize the event's strong tourist potential, the rites of Holy Week have been of interest to anthropologists (Marcovecchio 2005; Martini 2005; Zuppante 2005), geographers (Jorge 2009; Zammit 2009), psychologists (Noel and Johnson 2005; Pizzato 2005), historians (Caputo 1983, 1985; Caputo and Majorano 1998), photographers, television reporters and even film directors (Mel Gibson, producer, director and co-writer of The Passion of the Christ 2003).
