
Flower Festival of Santa Croce in Montisola
What it is, when it takes place and where it comes from: here is everything you need to know about the famous Flower Festival that takes place every 5 years in Carzano...
More than 200 thousand flowers, which, despite being made of paper, almost evoke a scent along the streets they adorn. 12 thousand colored light bulbs that animate the streets with plays of light. Spectacular wooden arches built by the inhabitants themselves, ready to welcome the curious. And then fireworks, cannon shots, music and the inevitable procession of the Holy Cross, which winds through the medieval villages under the watchful eye of the crowd of inhabitants and tourists.
After 5 years, from Monday 14 to Sunday 20 September 2020, the villages of Carzano and Novale will once again dress up in the colours of the Festa dei Fiori di Santa Croce, the anniversary for the celebration of the end of cholera. There will be 4 days of celebrations in the name of colour and music, where the sacred and the profane mix: in fact, the festival is also known as “ol festù del deaol” (the devil’s festival), given that, once upon a time, the decorations were considered far beyond the economic possibilities of the island’s fishermen.
WHERE DID THE FESTIVAL COME FROM?
In the summer of 1836, Montisola was plagued by cholera and the most affected were the fishermen, since they were always in contact with stagnant water and lived in humid environments.
With the death toll increasing by 2 per day, the inhabitants of Carzano and Novale decided to ask the Holy Cross for grace and carried in procession a relic believed to be a piece of the original Holy Cross. After the procession, the disease disappeared and the islanders promised to honor the relic on a regular basis (hence the celebrations every 5 years).
The first editions of the festival saw the inhabitants display the most precious embroideries, together with paper flowers (replacing the real ones, which were perhaps an inaccessible luxury), while snail shells filled with oil were the version of modern illuminations.
HOW TO GET TO THE FLOWER FESTIVAL
The only way to reach Montisola is by boat and you need to book a ticket.
Tickets will be on sale from the end of February and must be booked.