Numerous floats, some of them articulated and of great artistic interest, star in the solemn processions of Holy Week in Viveiro, in which guilds and brotherhoods fill the streets of the town with piety and an intimate atmosphere. Eucharists, The Stations of the Cross, and drumming processions precede the big days. The most striking acts begin on Maundy Thursday, with the procession of the Last Supper -the float depicting the Supper was created in 1808 by a craftsman who took sailors from the neighbouring port of San Cibrao as models for the figures of the Apostles- and the Arrest, organized by the Hermandad del Prendimiento (Brotherhood of Arrest), very striking for its red and white robes and hoods. On Good Friday morning, the Encounter procession takes place, another exciting ceremony in which, together with the falling Christ, the carvings of La Dolorosa, John the Apostle and Veronica take part, and which is followed by crowds from the streets and balconies.  In the afternoon, after The Descent from the Cross procession, the procession of the Holy Burial is celebrated, the most lavish of all, with the bearers dressed in black long-tailed clothing and a large hooded mask.

The Passion Procession takes place at midnight on Good Friday. Several guilds and brotherhoods take part with their respective floats, among them the Seven Sayings of Jesus and that of Women of the Holy Cross, dressed in their classic mantilla. At midnight, the Soledad (solitude) or Caladiños procession takes to the streets, with the processions of Verónica, John the Apostle and The Virgin of Solitude accompanied by a multitude of faithful followers with lit candles in impressive solemnity.

Not to be missed:

Procession of the Encounter, in the Praza Maior and atrium of Santa María, an exciting representation of the falls of Christ, with the cross on his back, with the Virgin, Veronica and John the Apostle looking for him.