Join us for the second event in our new Eatalian Talks series, our lunchtime program dedicated to exploring the richness of Italian culture through talks, screenings, and special presentations.
Tradition, faith, and spectacle come together in some of Italy’s most extraordinary celebrations. Every year, hundreds of bearers carry enormous ceremonial structures on their shoulders, transforming the streets into a vibrant stage of music, emotion, and community participation. These are the “shoulder-borne processional machines”—far more than religious celebrations, they are a living heritage that preserves centuries of history, craftsmanship, and cultural identity, recognised by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Among the most famous are the Macchina di Santa Rosa procession in Viterbo, near Rome, and the Festa dei Gigli in Nola, Campania, where eight richly decorated obelisks, reaching up to 25 metres in height, are carried by more than one hundred men and made to “dance” through the streets to the rhythm of music. Together with Nola and Viterbo, the UNESCO network also includes the Varia of Palmi in Calabria and the Faradda dei Candelieri in Sassari, Sardinia.
Join us on Tuesday 8 of August at 12.15 pm to discover the most striking images of these remarkable celebrations and explore the traditions that have kept them alive for centuries.
We invite you to enjoy a convivial gathering with complimentary Peroni alcohol-free beer and a selection of light refreshments, offered to all attendees.
Book HERE.