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Referring to written and iconographical sources, this paper discusses celebrations to honour St. Casimir that took place in 1604 and 1636 in Vilnius and in 1636 in Palermo. The purpose is to reveal the particularities, similarities and differences between St. Casimir's festivities that were celebrated at the same time, but in different places, or at different times, but in the same place. St. Casimir's festivities in 1604 should be associated to celebrations characteristic to the canonisation of saints at the time. The 1636 festivities dedicated to the saint are related to the transference of his remains into a new titular chapel of the Vilnius Cathedral. The same year, in another part of Europe, St. Casimir was announced the patron saint of Palermo, and a great theatricalised celebration took place on that occasion. The paper tries to answer the following questions: do the festivities under different names (St. Casimir's Procession, St. Casimir's Triumph) that were celebrated for different purposes differ in their expression and artistic highlights? Does the character of festivities depend on the country's traditions and on the power of local foundators? Do personal pious intentions influence in any way the size, image and sound of festivities? What is the 'long-term value' of 17th century St. Casimir's festivities in Vilnius and Palermo? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Funeral ceremonies and their traditions are a significant part of everyday life that reflects important aspects of a certain society's views. On the other hand, pompous funerals of noblemen and other famous people in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania often turned into extraordinary events and impressive celebrations; their décor also shows the particularities of the artistic culture of the time. The Bernardine Church in Vilnius and its churchyard was the favourite place of burials among townspeople from the very beginning. Unfortunately, only fragmented and very laconic data concerning funeral ceremonies before the 17th century have survived; the 17th-19th century left more information. Funerary traditions in this church partially illustrate more general traditions in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is important that representatives of various classes of society used to be buried in the Bernardine churchyard: magnates, noblemen, craftsmen and merchants used to choose their eternal resting places here. The walls of this church, the churchyard and the Bernardine cemetery established in early 19th century have sheltered bodies of the friars themselves, Bernardine sisters, and many impoverished people of the city. There are various sources concerning funerals at the Bernardine Church, although they are quite fragmentary. These are the monuments that have survived in the church until our days and inscriptions of former monuments recorded in written sources; various messages in the convent's diaries and other documents about people buried in the church or in the churchyard; more extensive information on some funerals in written sources; funerary sermons; descriptions of hearses in church inventories and scarce iconographic sources. The paper attempts to systematise the information gathered from various sources on funeral ceremonies in this church, to reveal its character and discuss the features of artistic décor of such funerary ceremonies. It also tries to show how funeral ceremonies and the very place of burials were related to the social status of the buried person and other facts of social status and wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]