I remember the year that a tour guest summed up our walk through Spello on Corpus Cristi (60 days after Easter) this way: “Seeing the Infiorate should be on the cover of the book, A Thousand Things to Do Before You Die”.
I second that thought each year when starting out early with my tour guests to see the tens of kaleidoscopic floral masterpieces carpeting medieval Spello’s piazzas and labyrinthine alleyways.
We try to arrive early enough to see and feel la passione of the kneeling and crouching infioratori (literally, “flower-tapestry creators”) as they strive to finish their all-night labors on the floral masterpieces. We want to see each one before the procession at 11 30 when the Host is carried aloft in the monstrance by the bishop, right over the tapestries; after all, the floral masterpieces are a welcome to Christ.
After all-night labors, intense work to finish the Infiorate
The Sacred Host in the monstrance, born by the bishop (Photo thanks to Luigi Bracaccia)
The Sacred Host is born by the bishop over the floral carpets (Photo thanks to Luigi Bracaccia)
…and each year, one of the stunning floral tapestries of Spello’s Infiorate festival has to be declared a winner. Second and third places must be decided, too. What a task for the five-member jury, experts in the fields of art and /or theology. How to possibly decide which of the 70 floral masterpieces carpeting Spello’s piazzas and meandering medieval backstreets on Corpus Domini (May 29th this year) best showed off floral chromatic variations and capacity to depict perspective? Which floral carpet most artistically paid tribute to the feast day of Corpus Domini?
Two thousand infioratori (“flower-tapestry creators”) – 500 of them, children – had started three months ago to collect the flowers for the creation of the masterpieces, composed of 65 floral varieties, 90 chromatic variations and 1,500,000 flowers that they’d use in their nocturnal labors.
Marveling over each of the floral wonders as we wandered Spello on Corpus Cristi morning before the solemn Procession began, I simply couldn’t accept that one single Infiorata should be “THE winner.”
There simply can’t be just one.
The winners are many: each of the infioratore who had worked with such passione – all night – on their inforiate group’s floral majesty.
Have a look at the floral splendor:
(Photo thanks to Luigi Bracaccia)
You can see the winning 2016 Infiorate on the official website here: http://infioratespello.it
For more on the Infiorate, see: http://www.italiannotebook.com/events/flowers-passione/
Read about – and see! – the floral passione of the spellani
Read about the origins of Le Infiorate
Read more on Spello floral passion
Read about the pre-Infiorate floral dinner
Read about Assisi’s floral passion
Read another note on Assisi’s infiorate
Read about Italian passione lived in the festivals
Read about the Infiorate created for Pope Francis’ visit to Assisi
To see all the photos of the 2016 Infiorate, click here
Click here to read about – and see!- the splendid restoration of Spello’s medieval tower
These are magnificent! Thanks so much for sharing the beauty of Spello!
Stunning! Absolutely agree w/your tour participant, a must see before exiting planet earth. I also agree w/you, how can only one entry be deemed the winner? I love strolling thru the narrow streets of medieval towns and doing so in Spello with this plethora of floral art would be the best! Again, my love for the Italianos & their passions never ceases to draw me in just a little bit more. Your pics are, as always, beautiful as well as your storytelling. Grazie!
Che bellezza! And if I didn’t read your blog, I wouldn’t have known about this. Thank you again Anne, for the beautiful photos and information.
Beautiful town with an amazing festival!
Sally, Steph, Ana..would so love to see all the floral wonders with EACH of you!
WHen?
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