A vital tradition in Manchester's Little Italy calendar has finally returned to the city centre, three years after the last procession.
The Madonna del Rosario procession has been held every year since 1890, being halted just three times in the festivity's 132-year history, during the coronavirus pandemic, in the First World War, and from 1940 to 1945, when many respected members of the local Italian community were interned after Mussolini sided with Hitler's Germany.
However, the community refused to let the pandemic kill off the tradition for good, and Manchester's Italian community hit the streets of the city centre on Sunday afternoon, July 3, to bring the traditional march back to the streets and celebrate their culture and heritage in style.
READ MORE: The hatch-style bakery launched by lockdown bakers that's bringing a slice of Brazil to Manchester The procession started off from St Michael's Roman Catholic Church on George Leigh Street, Ancoats, at 1.30pm, heading down towards St Peter's Square, spending some time in the area, before heading back towards St Michael's to finish shortly after 4.15pm.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk