Firenze

Pasqua, Piccione, e Pazzino

Easter in Italy brings a procession of over 3000 live events. The full history of the country displays itself, wearing the colours of Spring. The celebrations of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ mix with folklore as the people gather in the streets and the piazza to play their role in the ancient traditions. Then, there is the exploding dove.

In Firenze every Easter Sunday the curious ceremony of the Scoppio del Carro unfolds. Through the streets, a fuoco sacro in the Carro di Fuoco is paraded to Brunellesci"s famous duomo the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. It is placed outside and accompanied by hundreds of citizens dressed in the costumes of soldiers of the crusades. Many hold large colourful heraldic bandiere of the time.

From the alter within the duomo the archbishop of Firenze lights the fuse of the Colombina, a firework in the form of a dove. A special line is ready to guide the rocket-propelled bird of hope outside to the top of the Carro di Fuoco where many other fireworks await ignition. The crowd waits in silence. As the fuse nears the pigeon there is just time enough to reflect on where this bizarre ritual has come from.

The flag of Pazzino de Pazzi the nobile fiorentino and crusader marks the moment of history which leads to the Easter ceremony. Pazzino was the first to hoist the red cross of the crusaders in Jerusalem during the first crusade, signifying victory in the battle to take the holy city. As a reward he was given some stone shards from Christ"s tomb by Goffredo di Buglione, leader of the crusades. On return to Firenze, to celebrate their hero, the de Pazzi family built a carro to hold the fuoco sacro ignited using the shards of the Santo Sepulcro. This became the Carro di Fuoco and joined the rituals of Christian Easter ceremonies and popular folklore celebrations of Spring.

For the tourists this may be just a slightly bemusing spectacle. For the Fiorentini it is more. The dove holds in its mechanical beak a superstition: Se tutto si svolge senza intoppi, verrano tratti buoni auspici per i raccolti! ("If all goes well, good fortune will be brought to the harvest"). To be successful the Colombina has to fly to the top of the carro, light a display of fireworks, and return to the expectant congregation and archbishop.

To find out what becomes of the exploding dove this year on Easter Sunday (20th April), and get more information about Easter traditions in Italy, visit the RAI website: http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/argomenti/altro/pasqua.htm . You can also see live images of Firenze and archive films and images of the Scoppio del Carro at http://www.vps.it/cupolalive/ .

Lo Scoppio del Carro – the exploding of the cart
fuoco sacro – holy fire
duomo – cathedral
bandiere – flags
Santo Sepulcro – Holy Sepulchre
nobile fiorentino – Florentine nobleman
Firenze – Florence