Savona's traditional Good Friday procession has its origins in the first medieval Confraternities, with public flagellations of penance accompanied by processions and songs. After the mid-16th century, the Passion of Christ was progressively interpreted through polychrome wooden sculptural groups mounted on chests, called "casse", carried in procession on the shoulders of the brothers.

The precious and scenic wooden "casse," still preserved today in the oratories of Savona, are characterized by their dual nature: symbols of devotion and precious examples of sculpture, almost exclusively Ligurian, from the 17th to the 20th century. They present highly evocative depictions, designed to induce the viewer to meditate on the Passion of Christ. This is achieved through the evident theatricality of the scenes presented, the strong colours, and the explicit gestures of the various figures, arranged on the wooden platform as if on a stage.

Every two years, on Good Friday, these sculptures become the protagonists of the Easter procession, a moment of intense collective emotion. For the occasion, they emerge from their usual locations, carried on the shoulders of the disciples, amid prayers, songs, and music, embodying a travelling Stations of the Cross, almost a pilgrimage through the city, beginning in the Cathedral Square and concluding in the Town Hall Square, after crossing the 19th-century centre for a kilometre and a half, lasting the entire evening.

The procession is opened by a group of black-banded drums, whose sombre sound heralds the procession of the "casse". This is followed by the Cross, which represents all the symbols of the Passion, then the 15 "casse", and finally by a reliquary containing a relic of the Holy Cross.

The numerous stops along the route, announced by the blows of a wooden mallet, called "mazzetta", on the beams supporting the "casse", which weigh between 500 and 1200 kg, serve to mark the slow progress and lighten the burden of the bearers, who wear the characteristic habit called "Cappa", a different colour for each confraternity.

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