qui per un breve periodo

On September the 8th, Roman Catholics celebrate the birth of the Madonna. The eve of this holy day, however, has its own special celebration unique to Florence- the Festival of the Lanterns, or la festa della rificolona.

The festival begins after nightfall with a parade through il centro (the city center). Heralded by a community band, Florentine children carry paper handmade lanterns lit by small candles through the streets of Florence, beginning at the church of Santa Croce or the Duomo (the cathedral) and continuing to the Santissima Annunziata (church of the annunciation). Along the parade route, a traditional game erupts spontaneously as older children- mostly boys- use spit-guns to shoot small clay pellets at the lanterns. The goal of the game is to break the paper and cause the lantern to erupt into flames, while the poor children holding the lanterns attempt to dodge the ambush and arrive at SS. Annuziata with their lantern still intact and glowing.

Once the parade reaches the doors of the church, the building is opened to the people, who flock to the church’s famous painting of the Madonna (said to have been miraculously finished by an angel as the monk painting it slept) to light a candle and say a prayer of thanks to the virgin mother and to God.

Outside the church, parade participants, onlookers, and tourists gather in the Piazza to enjoy local music, dancing, carnival food, and people-watching late into the night.

The colors and the glow of the lanterns, the smell of fried dough and chocolate mixed with burnt paper and rain, the smiling faces of the children and the mischievous grins of the clay-spitters, the spirit of anticipation and happiness- these are the memories I have taken away from my experience of something uniquely Florentine.