Tangled

On September 7th there is the Festa della Rificolona every year in Piazza Santissima Annunziata which is one of those very Italian festivals and my group was probably most of the only non-native it the square.  The Festa della Rificolona(or festival of lanterns) is a festival created to celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary although according to my information this festival wasn't a big deal until 1555 when Florence defeated Siena.   It was an amazing site, I wish I had brought my camera (it was tucked neatly in my drawer waiting for me to get it, although to be perfectly honest it doesn't take great night photographs so images wouldn't be as impressive as it actually looked).  This is also known as the Festival of lanterns, there was a woman giving what I expect to be a very moving speech, the whole crowd was mesmerized.  There was families with children, and everyone had lanterns.  Some lanterns had an electronic light in them, some had an actual tea light, some were handmade and some were obviously purchased, but all lanterns were on sticks held above the crowd.  There was one very large replica of the Duomo that obviously took someone a very long time.  They were beautiful, especially all held up on over the heads of the crowd.  There was also children running around with spit ball shooters, trying to hit as many lanterns as they could.  This was a strange event to watch, especially because not only were these spit balls hitting lanterns, they were breaking them by puncturing the cray-paper and in some cases knocking them completely off their support stick.  I did a little research and that tradition has something to do with the schism between the rich and poor.   When this festival was first started the rich patrons were be able to afford lanterns, where as the poor would not, so to try and knock the rich down they would try and destroy their lanterns.  



In the end we saw on boy successfully do this, by hitting the right point on another boys lantern and the tea light(with oil not wax) knocked around enough to light the lantern on fire.  Then I saw one of the most fascinating things ever.  Groups of children and adults gather around the lantern to watch it burn.  I just happened to be there at the time so I watched this all progress, and it went on for at least ten minutes because the light had oil which kept burning longer than a traditional fire of that nature would have lasted.  The parents were taking pictures and the kids would poke the fire with their sticks.  Then as more people gathered, other lanterns were being lit by the first lantern's fiery demise.  Soon there were pockets of burning lanterns all over the piazza, surrounded by eager on lookers and wide eyed children.  The smell of burning paper wafted over the crowd making the warm September night feel cozy and intimate, as it was very much like incense.    


It was a beautiful intrusion on an Italian cultural event, that made me feel like I was part of something because no one expected there to be anyone who wasn't Italian to be there.  Now I am sure that spotted through the crowd there were other people who went to see the performances, but it was so specific and focused that it was very targeted to natives.  This was really beautiful and I really want to go again next year!  But this time, I will bring a camera for sure.