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Easter Weekend in Florence, April 5th
We wound up in Viareggio on Saturday. It was about an hour and a half train ride to
Viareggio and it was absolutely beautiful outside. When we got into the train station, we had to make our way through the quaint little beach town down to the actual beach. It was so cute! It had a lot of really cute shops and stores and it wasn’t at all crowded or touristy which was surprising. We got food and went and ate on the beach to enjoy the beautiful beach weather. Unfortunately the beach was very polluted, but it was nice being able to lie out in the sun again. When we finally started to relax [and some of us fell asleep] the clouds came and took the sun away and it got pretty cold. We decided to head back but not before I got myself a crepe. We headed back and relaxed for the rest of the night.
Sunday morning we got up early to go watch the big Easter celebration at the Duomo called lo Scoppio del Carro [explosion of the cart]. I’m unsure of the full history but basically, lo Scoppio del Carro is a Florentine tradition that is held every year on Easter Sunday. People gather around the Piazza del Duomo to witness this explosion, which takes place at 11AM. Thisannual event has a long standing tradition that dates back to the first Crusade in 1099. History tells us of a Florentine nobleman by the name of Pazzino de Pazzi who was the first to climb the walls of Jerusalem carrying the flag of the crusaders. For his courage Goffredo di Buglione, the commander and chief of the crusade, rewarded Pazzino with stone splinters from the Holy Sepulchre. When he returned to Florence he donated these splinters to the city. Every Easter morning a procession is held in the city of Florence. Starting at the church of the SS Apostoli an elaborate cart, which is called the Brindellone, is pulled by oxen decorated with flowers. The oxen pull the cart through the city until it reaches the Piazza del Duomo. Once it reaches the Piazza the oxen are unhooked from the cart and a wire is attached to it. The wire extends from the cart all the way to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. On the wire in the Cathedral is a rocket that has the appearance of a white dove, which is referred to as the Colombina. During the celebration of Easter mass the fuse is lit by a fire that was created by the vary same splinters that Pazzino donated to the city and the dove is sent on its way to ignite the cart setting off a spectacular explosion. According to popular legend if all goes well and the cart is exploded it will mean a very prosperous year for the Florentines. (some text taken from www.italiansrus.com).
So we went to see the celebration and to watch the cart explode. Fireworks and purple and red smoke; it was spectacular! Everyone cheered and was yelling “Buona Pasqua”! It was a really fun event to be a part of in Florence. After the explosion scene ended we walked back home and on the way watched a parade of people walking through the streets back to the Piazza della Reppublica, beating drums dressed in crazy costumes. After that we went home and got ready for Easter dinner!
My roommate and I were hosting Easter dinner for our friends that live in the building in an apartment above of us. We weren’t able to make a traditional [American] Easter, although I attempted to try and make a traditional Italian Easter dinner with a roast lamb [but unfortunately didn’t get to the market in time to get any sort of lamb dish]. So instead we just made pasta with meatballs, vegertarian pasta with white sauce, and rice balls. Of course we drank wine and had bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For dessert we feasted on homemade cookies. Everything was delicious, and overall we had a great time just laughing with our friends and enjoying each other’s presence on Easter Sunday.
Viareggio and it was absolutely beautiful outside. When we got into the train station, we had to make our way through the quaint little beach town down to the actual beach. It was so cute! It had a lot of really cute shops and stores and it wasn’t at all crowded or touristy which was surprising. We got food and went and ate on the beach to enjoy the beautiful beach weather. Unfortunately the beach was very polluted, but it was nice being able to lie out in the sun again. When we finally started to relax [and some of us fell asleep] the clouds came and took the sun away and it got pretty cold. We decided to head back but not before I got myself a crepe. We headed back and relaxed for the rest of the night.
Sunday morning we got up early to go watch the big Easter celebration at the Duomo called lo Scoppio del Carro [explosion of the cart]. I’m unsure of the full history but basically, lo Scoppio del Carro is a Florentine tradition that is held every year on Easter Sunday. People gather around the Piazza del Duomo to witness this explosion, which takes place at 11AM. Thisannual event has a long standing tradition that dates back to the first Crusade in 1099. History tells us of a Florentine nobleman by the name of Pazzino de Pazzi who was the first to climb the walls of Jerusalem carrying the flag of the crusaders. For his courage Goffredo di Buglione, the commander and chief of the crusade, rewarded Pazzino with stone splinters from the Holy Sepulchre. When he returned to Florence he donated these splinters to the city. Every Easter morning a procession is held in the city of Florence. Starting at the church of the SS Apostoli an elaborate cart, which is called the Brindellone, is pulled by oxen decorated with flowers. The oxen pull the cart through the city until it reaches the Piazza del Duomo. Once it reaches the Piazza the oxen are unhooked from the cart and a wire is attached to it. The wire extends from the cart all the way to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. On the wire in the Cathedral is a rocket that has the appearance of a white dove, which is referred to as the Colombina. During the celebration of Easter mass the fuse is lit by a fire that was created by the vary same splinters that Pazzino donated to the city and the dove is sent on its way to ignite the cart setting off a spectacular explosion. According to popular legend if all goes well and the cart is exploded it will mean a very prosperous year for the Florentines. (some text taken from www.italiansrus.com).
So we went to see the celebration and to watch the cart explode. Fireworks and purple and red smoke; it was spectacular! Everyone cheered and was yelling “Buona Pasqua”! It was a really fun event to be a part of in Florence. After the explosion scene ended we walked back home and on the way watched a parade of people walking through the streets back to the Piazza della Reppublica, beating drums dressed in crazy costumes. After that we went home and got ready for Easter dinner!
My roommate and I were hosting Easter dinner for our friends that live in the building in an apartment above of us. We weren’t able to make a traditional [American] Easter, although I attempted to try and make a traditional Italian Easter dinner with a roast lamb [but unfortunately didn’t get to the market in time to get any sort of lamb dish]. So instead we just made pasta with meatballs, vegertarian pasta with white sauce, and rice balls. Of course we drank wine and had bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For dessert we feasted on homemade cookies. Everything was delicious, and overall we had a great time just laughing with our friends and enjoying each other’s presence on Easter Sunday.
Submitted by Erin Wingert. Spring 2010.