Macchina di Santa Rosa

The major event for the year has already happened: the trasporto della Macchina di Santa Rosa. The Macchina is a tower, several stories tall, that is carried by 100 facchini (men in white shirts with red sashes) through the streets of town. The Macchina represents and tells the story of the ascension of Santa Rosa. Every few years they build a new Macchina of a different design. In the past, it has been a white or silvery solid tower, carved with angels, and the required lions and palm fronds (symbols of Viterbo), all lit up with hundreds of candles and lights. This year has taken a different turn, with a taller, smoother Macchina, of bright gold and red accents for flowers. It is an impressive piece, truly towering over everything. The night it is carried through the town, all the street lights go dark, and it provides the only light to see by. Smoke rises from inside, and the lights splay across buildings. The statue of the saint on top is pure white, glowing and shining, and it seems truly magical. Its an incredible night, with people lining up for hours along streets solely for a glimpse of the Macchina as it passes by.
The day before the Macchina, the saint's heart (the only relic of her; the rest of her is still preserved in the Chiesa di Santa Rosa) is taken from the church and shown to the town. It is accompanied by people in costume representing the different time periods that Santa Rosa has been a saint for, from the 1200's to the 1800's, which means hundreds of people, dressed as dukes, kings, buissnessmen, members of parliament, knights, pages, nuns, entire contingents. Unfortunately, Anna fainted in the heat, and so couldn't leave the house for the Macchina, on doctor's recommendations. I watched instead with the teachers and their families from the school windows. We brought and made large quantities of food. Ms. Mazurek (the art history teacher) and I made pita bread, which turned into just regular bread, but still delicious hot from the oven and dipped in humus. It was great to see the teachers relax with their families (or not; Mr. Sammartino worked on Monday's classwork the whole time, and every teacher worked a little at some point.) It was fun, though, and we got a great view of the Macchina, as it stops for 15 minutes in Piazza Fontana Grande, which is visible from the school. It was a spectacular night!
The Facchini (carriers of the Macchina) marching up the street towards the Macchina.
The Macchina fully lit in Piazza Fontana Grande.






















A more detailed and dimmer version. As mentioned, it stopped for 15 minutes, so I had lots of time to play around with the settings on the camera.
The Macchina as it passed by the school in the street.

Viterbo

Part One of my built-up-blog-posts
So much to tell! I am writing this at the end of my first week in Viterbo. Its hard to believe its only a week!
When we first got in, we were all very tired and ready to collapse at any moment. Luckily, my host mother, Anna, understood this, and brought me back to the house, a split household out in the countryside south of Viterbo, along a narrow, twisting road through forest and farmland. The house is inhabited in one half by Anna and Sincero, my host parents, and in the other half by Giulia, Georgio, and their daughter Georgia. Giulia is the daughter of Anna and Sincero. The house has a German Shepard dog named Hettore, two cats, an olive grove, some fig and lemon trees, at least 5 cars, and 5 sets of deadbolts on all external doors, an interesting combination.
Viterbo is a beautiful, but mixed, town. There are portions, such as San Pellegrino, which are filled with archways, fountains, and medieval palazzi. Others places bear monuments, churches, fountains that range from the modern era to the ancient. But in other parts, Fascist architecture with such slogans as “DURARE” (work) exist, covered with graffiti. The entire city is worth exploring, as most of the city is quite beautiful. Churches and clock towers dot the skyline, caffes in every piazza, clothes lines strung between and across stone houses; its a wonderful town. The people are quite friendly, and many of the businesses, especially around the school, are willing to slow down their Italian for the American students (which includes, in addition to us, an American University.) Overall, Viterbo is very nice, and I hope to explore more. We seem to have lots of time to explore with other students, which is quite nice.

A view from the central piazza, Sacrario, named for the WWII monument in it. this shows one of the many clock towers in town.




















A lion guarding the cross and orb, all symbols of Viterbo.






















A house from the historical section of town.






















The windows on the patio of the Papal Palace. You can see the roofs of two seperate churches and one fountain.