Jupiter - God of the Sky, Lightning and Thunder

Vive Santa Rosa!

So basically, on September 3, the entire populace of Viterbo and approximately half of San Martino squeezes themselves into the streets of il centro to cheer on the Faquini as they carry the 5 ton, 100' tall, lighted, spiraling macchina di Santa Rosa to wear she still lies in the Basilica named for her. . What an event!

The whole festival takes place over 3 days. On day one, the children of Viterbo march through the streets in the mini macchina ceremony. On day two, a huge parade of cos

tumed citizens winds through the streets. The costumes celebrate the clothing and the people of Viterbo ever since it was built in Medieval Italy. In between each section marches people dress

ed as nuns holding baskets of fiori. At the end of this parade Faquini carry a giant casket adorned with a thousand white and yellow roses and carrying "the heart of Santa Rosa" (which isn't actually her heart, but just a silver carving shaped like a heart). We had a great view of this from the school, but I, for what ever reason, neglected to bring my camera... So I apologize for no pictures.

We arrived for the grande finale around 5 or 6 Thursday evening. Luckily, a family friend had an apartment on the

rout so we didn't have to nudge our way through the crowd to get a good look. We feasted until about 21:30 and then continued to feast while watching the macchina move towards us on television. by 22:00, we could see Santa Rosa's glowing figure over the

rooftops. The Faqu

ini are the strongest men in Viterbo, brought together and wearing all white except for a red sash around the waist. 100 of these men carry the Macchina di Santa Rosa on their shoulders the whole way to the Basilica. (Francesco and I were hoping for a wind storm, to make things really exciting).

The macchina itself was incredible. All gold, and covered with flowered lights and incense. It stuck up at least 10 feet above the buildings, so we could see the entire last stretch. Meanwhile, the bishop of Viterbo was shouting out prayers into a microphone that echoed throughout the city, and every so often a burst of "VIVE SANTA ROSA" would rise up out of the crowd.

Walking home, you wouldn't believe the amount of trash on the ground. Plastic bottles, winebottles, cigarette butts and newspaper! Their was probably a good 3 forests in newspaper covering the cobblestone and you had to watch your step.

Fireworks started at midnight. We got home around 1:00 and I was out until about 5 when I woke up suddenly, which has become a tradition this past week.