Hooded penitents (Nazarenos) during Seville's annual Easter Holy Week (Semana Santa de Sevilla)

Hooded penitents (Nazarenos) during Seville's annual Easter Holy Week (Semana Santa de Sevilla) one of the most important traditional events of the city. The annual celebrations mark the story of Christ's crucifixion and the Nazarenos walk through the historic Andalucian city in front of the devout in a series of processions. Several hundred members of the 57 religious brotherhoods (or Hermandades) from many of city churches accompany giant floats (Pasos) depicting the road to Calvary. The brotherhoods (founded in the mid 14th century) are associations of Catholic laypersons organised for the purpose of performing public acts of religious observance; in this case, related to the Passion and death of Jesus Christ and to perform public penance.