AGI – It is one of the most anticipated events for Umbria and for city of Spello. It’s thereCorpus Domini flower displayan event that takes place on 1st and 2nd June, which transmits unique emotions every year. Love for tradition, passion and sacrifice are intertwined in this ancient work which requires months and months of preparation through the choice of religious themes, the study of sketches, drawings and colours. And above all there are the real protagonists: the flowers. The night, the very long night in which the paintings are made, sees the groups busy filling the drawings with flowers.
Those flowers of which first, always according to tradition, people divide the petals under the guidance of the so-called master inflorator. The petals are divided by type and color. Those flowers and herbs, which are collected from Mount Subasio or from the Apennines from special cultivations. And every year, there is a theme, freely chosen within the competition. Two juries, one composed of 5 members expert in artistic, architectural and theological disciplines who will evaluate the Paintings category, and one with 5 master inflorators drawn by lot, will have to evaluate the Carpet and Under 14 categories.
A few days before, in Spello, the streets are closed and structures are erected to protect the “artists” who proceed to create the paintings from the rain or wind. The drawing, on the street, is performed according to different techniques. The inflorators deposit the petals, millions of colored petals during the night hours. A pleasant “effort”, because it smacks of respect for traditions and faith. The result will be a long scented carpet of around two thousand metres. The streets and squares of the historic center of Spello are colored through works that in terms of size (from 25 to 70 square meters for paintings, and at least 12 square meters for carpets) and for artistic and technical quality (only plant elements, neither glue nor artificial colourants) are known and appreciated almost all over the world. The intense scent invades the entire village, from the Consular Gate to the viewpoint.
The floral species used range from cornflower, rose, carnation, poppy, fennel, vetch, iris, broom, elderberry, daisy, dandelion, thistle, serputello, plantago, viscaria, sage, linaria, marigold, anemone, cicirilli, magnolia, spring onion, gaggia, fig, oak, walnut, cypress, pine, wild orchid.
The most exciting moment of the event is actually that of the long preparation, between Saturday and Sunday, which involves over two thousand people, both adults and children, giving tourists and visitors a unique emotion. Because guests are also given the opportunity to make a manual contribution, within the same floral groups.
The works must be completed by eight in the morning on Sunday. After the jury’s evaluations, the Corpus Domini procession led by the Bishop will trample them. A religious gesture that symbolizes purity and elevation above everything. This year, Spello will also host some exceptional guests: as part of the celebrations for the 250 anniversary of the foundation of the Guardia di Finanza, on the night of flowers a delegation from the Umbria regional command will try their hand at the art of flowering, assisted by experts, to celebrate a two and a half century long history, with an eye between tradition and innovation (“In tradition the future”).
Among the novelties of the 2024 edition also theawaited return of the flowers on the plate. For indomitable gastronauts, refined palates and aspiring chefs, today, June 1st, two floral cooking courses conducted by the chef Roberto Sebastianellia great expert in preparing delicious dishes with flowers, who in Ostra Vetere (An) founded the Fiorfri’ agricultural company to cultivate the most interesting edible species (marigolds, snapdragon, chrysanthemum, begonia, wild carrot flower) from cook with wisdom and creativity.
The courses will take place at the Piazzale Sant’Andrea Center in two editions which will mark the day and which will conclude with a delicious final tasting: “Aperitifs and starters with flowers” from 10.30 to 12.30 course and “First courses with flowers” from 5pm to 8pm. The cost of each course is 45 euros including tasting. During the weekend of the flower displays, in a city transformed thanks to the floral embellishments created as part of the “Windows, balconies and flowered alleys” competition, collateral events and events will be held: the exhibition of sketches at the flower display museum, the painting and of historical photography, the horticultural market exhibition, live music on the occasion of the “M’ama non m’ama” and the final awards ceremonies.
Walking along the route of the flower displays, visitors will be able to watch the traveling shows with street artists who will stop at the Tega Chapel, the Town Hall, the Church of San Martino and the Subasio Town Theatre; they will then be able to visit the bonsai exhibition, with demonstrations of theoretical and practical techniques, and taste the typical local products in the restaurants and shops, which will remain open all night.
The origins of the Spello infiorata are documented for the first time in 1602 in the accounting records of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and subsequently, in 1831, in the Municipal Archives, when, on the occasion of the visit of Bishop Ignazio Cadolini who was supposed to take possession of the city, the inhabitants of the houses overlooking the main street, along which the procession with the high prelate would pass, they were invited to keep “the respective stretches of road in front of their houses very clean and free of any rubble and to scatter plenty of flowers or vegetables there”.
The iconographic evidence relating to the flower displays in Spello dates back to the early 1900s when Benvenuto Crispoldi (1886-1923), painter and mayor of Spello, depicted in one of his paintings the passage of the Corpus Christi procession over the flower display. In a short time, the artistic composition of the flower carpet took hold in Spello, transforming the celebration of Corpus Domini into a joyful occasion in which all the families and then groups of increasingly expert flower arrangers could compare their works and reward those judged best for technical ability, precision and creativity.
Organized for forty years by Pro Spello and since 2002 by the “Le Infiorate di Spello” Association, with the patronage of the Region and local authorities, the event attracts thousands of visitors and tourists: since 2007, for the occasion, tens of thousands of people arrive in Spello every year between Saturday and Sunday.
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