capirote

thumb|Holy Week in Malaga|Procession of the Reales Cofradías Fusionadas in Malaga thumb|Holy Week in Malaga|Brotherhood with green capirotes in Malaga thumb|Brotherhood of Saint Rochus with velvet capirotes thumb|Brotherhood with silk capirotes A capirote is a Christian pointed hat of conical form that is used in Italy, Spain and Hispanic countries by members of a confraternity of penitents, particularly those of the Catholic Church. It is part of the uniform of such brotherhoods including the Nazarenos and Fariseos during Lenten observances and reenactments during Holy Week in Spain and its former colonies, though similar hoods are common in other Christian countries such as Italy. Capirote are worn by penitents so that attention is not drawn towards themselves as they repent, but instead to God.

==History== Historically, the flagellants are the origin of the current traditions, as they flogged themselves with a discipline to do penance. Pope Clement VI ordered that flagellants could perform penance only under control of the church; he decreed Inter sollicitudines ("inner concerns" for suppression). This is considered one of the reasons why flagellants often hid their faces.