Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.
MORTORIO. - This was the name given to a sacred representation commemorating the Passion and Death of Christ. Adapting itself to the tastes of the time and to different settings, the m. sometimes assumed genuinely remarkable literary and spectacular forms. Particular success was enjoyed by the Riscatto di Adamo of the Palermitan Filippo Orioles (died at the age of 106 in 1793), reprinted several times under the sole title of M. di Cristo. At Acireale (Sicily) the action took place on a long stage and had as its setting the town’s main square: the spec-
(photo Enc. Catt.) MOSCA - Mass according to the Slavo-Greek liturgy, followed by the Muscovite patriarch - Vatican Library, cod. Vat. slavo 9 (12th cent.).tacle, in which hundreds of actors took part, lasted an entire day. In the living survivals of sacred drama there are testimonies of m. in various regions, from Sicily to Calabria, to the Napoletano, Tuscany, and Piedmont; but by now the m. has been reduced to the simple dramatic procession on the evening of Good Friday (v. folklore).
BIBL.: G. Pitrè, Spettacoli e feste popolari siciliane, Palermo 1881, pp. 13-35; A. D'Ancona, Origini del teatro italiano, II, 2nd ed., Torino 1891, pp. 199 2gg., 211, 213, 226, 230.
Paolo Toschi
Cite this article
“MORTORIO.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII (1952), p. 865. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/mortorio.
