By Jessica Easthope
Stepping lightly with four tons on your shoulders is no easy feat, but Anthony Varuzza has been doing it for 50 years.
“It’s just something you just feel. You can’t explain it,” Varuzza said. “The way you fall in love with someone. You fall in love with the feast and the Giglio.”
But what these Giglio lifters carry is much more than weight. Carrying on this century-old tradition is up to them.
This year’s number 1 capo, Danny Vecchiano, has been part of this feast his entire life. On Sunday, he debuted as lead conductor of an orchestra of more than 120 lifters.
“This is a lifetime worth of planning, preparation, and excitement. And here we are,” Vecchiano said. “The folks that are not only with me now but the folks that are going to come after me are going to do great things moving forward because we were able to really get ourselves together and make this a team.”
The new generation of participants remembers the history of carrying the Giglio.
“They started the feast in Nola, Italy, and then they brought it here to create happiness,” said Carmine Giudice, the Children’s Giglio Capo.
“It’s mostly about Italian and God,” said Sofia DiCanio, a Children’s Giglio Lifter. “And the Giglio, a lot of people lift it, and it’s really hard to lift, so a lot of the older men lift it.”
Ahead of the festivities and lifts of the 72-foot Giglio and the boat of St. Paulinus, who the feast is in honor, there was the annual mass.
Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, echoed a theme of family and getting back to your roots, not just heritage but devotion.
“Getting back to our roots is not just remembering, but really taking what we have learned from our parents and grandparents, what our faith teaches us, and putting that into action and trying our best to live it every day,” Msgr. Gigantiello said.
Many new faces are present at this year’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast, including the Giglio. For the first time since 2018, the entire facade of the Giglio was rebuilt and replaced.
“It gives us a little bit of a modern twist but still keeps tradition very, very strong.”
Then, what many wait all day for: the so-called double lift, when the Giglio and boat dance in unison. The front lifters on each structure join hands for a moment, symbolizing St. Paulinus’ return to Nola, Italy.
A lot has changed in 137 years, but what has yet to change is that the Giglio is at home in Brooklyn.
If you missed Giglio Sunday, you can still see a Giglio lift. The tower will dance under the stars on Thursday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. There will also be an old-timer’s lift on Sunday, July 21, at 2 p.m.