People in Rome love celebrating and do it passionately. You only have to be in the right time and right place to catch the moment.
It’s almost like a never ending celebration in spring. Everything and everyone in bloom, sharing their love and kindness, doing things they love doing. The sun shines upon us, the new circle of life begins.
Here in Rome, christians are holding breath waiting for Pentecost. Orthodox Church calls it the Day of the Holy Trinity. And Catholics celebrate Pentecost on the 50th day after Easter. On this day, they decorate the temples with flowers. When the sun rises, the church bell begins ringing.
Table of Contents
Raining Rose Petals
Panteon is a special place on this day.
After the messa the rain of rose petals falls down on everyone under the roof. The tradition comes down to old times. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was re-consecrated to the Catholic Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs.
The red rose has always been a symbol of Jesus Christ blood. Those are firefighters who climb on the top of the roof to throw the petals through the 9 metres diameter window. If you happen to be in Rome on May 24, do not miss the Pantheon. The mass begins at 10.30, the ceremony at 12.00.
We love the city of Rome. That’s the reason we arrange so many tours there. The Pantheon is something to see, sure, yet, consider visiting it after dark, as well as the rest of the city.
Our night tour may surprise you, so check it by the link.
This one also includes visiting Pantheon, so consider taking a closer look.
If you thought that’s it for the events taking place during the season, wait till you hear about Infiorata.
Infiorata
Starting from May and continuing in June, giant flower fets are being laid all over the country.
Catholic celebrations are quite significant here, so all the streets and squares in front of the city temples are covered with astonishing live compositions. Those reveal many eternal themes of philosophy and religion, life, human existence and nature.
People really do contribute to making those carpets, as this takes work of thouthands of florists.
To make those canvases of flowers, artists use a whole spectrum of different-coloured buds and every shade possible. Imagine flowers being an artist palette, for that’s exactly how it works.
At first, they sketch a painting on the ground using chalk. Then, they fill the sketch in, just like traditional painters do.
According to legend, it was the 18 century that brought the tradition in Italy. First Infiorate festival occurred down to June 29, 1625, when Romans held it in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. They contributed it in the honour of the patrons Peter and Paul.
Nowadays, the tradition infiltrates all regions of Italy, yet, the largest event is in the Sicilian city of Noto. Pienza, Orvieto, Bolsena, Potenzoni, Brugnato and many more are welcoming tourists to see the magnificent celebration.
If you’re into seeing more religious sites of Rome, there is a tour we set just for you. The Tour of the Churches of Rome introduces 5 churches and includes a professional guide to dive into the history of ancient architecture.
