Many Italian cities hold an infiorata , or floral art festival, during May and June (look for signs advertising an infiorata). The multi-colored flower petals are used to create amazing works of art on the streets or in the abbeys, a truly beautiful sight. In some places, the infiorata is a simple design of flower petals in front of the church. In a more elaborate infiorata several different tapestries are created, each with a different image, but often focused on a theme.
To create the image, the design is first drawn with chalk on the pavement. The ground is generally used to outline the design and then filled with thousands of petals and seeds, much like mosaic or tapestry making (but with different materials). Coffee grounds, beans, wood chips, and grass are often used as well, and compositions often feature incredible amounts of detail. The whole process takes two to three days to complete. Often a religious procession takes place on the flower carpets after they have been completed.
The ephemeral nature of the infiorata – finished works of art usually last only a few hours – is part of what makes them so rare and special.
Where to see an infiorata
One of the most famous infiorata festivals is in Noto, Sicily, which is generally celebrated on the weekend of the third Sunday in May. Noto is a beautiful baroque city and world heritage site in southeastern Sicily (see map of Sicily).
In mainland Italy, the date of the infiorata is usually Corpus Domini Sunday (Corpus Christi), celebrated nine weeks after Easter. But the true date of Corpus Domini is Thursday which falls 60 days after Easter, so you can also see small carpets of flower petals in front of the churches. The main infiorate exhibitions in Italy include:
- Bolsena , north of Rome (map of northern Lazio), about 3 km of pavement carpets with flower tapestries along the route for the Sunday Corpus Domini procession.
- Brugnato , a small town in the La Spezia province of Liguria inland from Cinque Terre (see map of Liguria) has an infiorata on Corpus Domini Sunday. Work begins early in the morning to create flower tapestries along the streets of the city center. Visitors can view flower art in the afternoon and there is a procession from the cathedral over the tapestries at 6 PM.
- Genzano di Roma , south of Rome, has been holding an infiorata since 1778.
- Orvieto , in Italy’s central Umbria region, has a costumed Corpus Domini procession with more than 400 people, and the streets are decorated with floral art.
- Spello , also in Umbria, is another very popular place for infiorata .
- Chiaravalle della Colomba Abbey , near Fidenza in the northern Emilia-Romagna region of Italy (see map of Emilia-Romagna), is one of several abbeys that create flower tapestries inside Corpus Domini .
Corpus Domini and Infiorata Dates: Corpus Domini Sunday in 2019 is June 20, while in 2020 it will fall on June 21. Look for displays of infiorata or flower petals in front of many Italian churches both on Corpus Domini Sunday and the Thursday before.
See more June festivals and events in Italy.
