I am in Spello for the Infiorata, a celebration held every year on Corpus Domini, the 9th Sunday after Easter. Around 1,000 people gather on the Saturday evening before to create carpets made of flower petals on the narrow streets of this gorgeous town in Umbria.
Spello is full of flowers anyway. Take a look at some of the lovely gardens.
This afternoon tents were erected to protect the areas to be covered with flower petals.
Thousands of flowers were pulled apart and separated into colours.
The designs are laid out on the streets. Some are very complicated.
Some are much more simple.
At about 7.00pm work begins on the designs.
Food is cooked in the streets to feed the hungry workers.
At midnight the streets were still full with people creating art and people watching them.
…and the whole town smells like flowers.
In the morning there will be a procession led by the bishop through the streets, trampling all the beautiful flower carpets.
I will be up bright an early to see the creations before they disappear.
Reblogged this on Miami Swamp.
By: Miami Swamp on June 21, 2014
at 11:28 pm
Thank you.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:37 pm
What a lot of work and devotion goes into this fleeting display. Thank you for the photos showing the work in progress.
By: ytaba36 on June 21, 2014
at 11:28 pm
I enjoyed being there to see the carpets grow before my eyes.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:43 pm
Debra, that is magnificent – one of the best flower carpets ever I am sure. Such precision and so much dedication by those people- obviously a clever designer and then the team do the hard work. glad you are there to capture on camera for us to enjoy to. Thanks
By: Dianne Cant on June 21, 2014
at 11:39 pm
There would be months of preparation to make this day happen…amazing.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:42 pm
Lovely place.
By: ranu802 on June 21, 2014
at 11:55 pm
Spello is very beautiful.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:40 pm
I would love to have been in Spello to see this Deb. What an amazing event. I can smell the perfume of the flowers from your beautiful photos. Hope you are up early this morning to see the procession.
By: Jim & Kerry on June 21, 2014
at 11:58 pm
I was up bright and early and then stood for an hour in the hot sun waiting for the procession to leave the church.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:39 pm
I would love to see this it looks just wonderful and so lovely to see the community involvement. How long do the displays last and the perfume must be amazing – enjoy the procession and I’m sure your camera will capture more lovely shots.
By: Helen Close on June 22, 2014
at 12:36 am
It was great to see people of all ages involved. Some of the creations were entirely done by under 14 year olds. The carpets are created overnight and last only until they are walked over by the procession the next day. They are not completely ruined and people are careful not to walk on them, but they don’t last very long at all.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:18 pm
What a wonderful way to involve a whole community in such a creative project! A pity all the petals had to be trampled the next day after hours of intricate work. Nevertheless, a marvellous attraction. Thanks for involving us in admiring this project, Deb. Can’t wait to see your next morning photos.
By: Sandra Hoopmann on June 22, 2014
at 1:31 am
The finished works were amazing. People worked all through the night and were still working until 8.00 the next morning.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:19 pm
How wonderful for you to be there to witness this amazing sight, Debra. So much planning, design work and artistic talent, involved in this project. Your photos are really great. Can’t wait to see the finished carpets, and also what it looks like when all the colourful petals are scattered. 🙂
By: anotherday2paradise on June 22, 2014
at 7:25 am
The carpets were walked over this morning by the procession, but not completely ruined. They were still largely still intact when I left, but I can’t see them lasting more than another day.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:21 pm
Absolutely gorgeous, Debra! And it is lovely to see the community involvement. We really need events like this one in Bagni di Lucca!
By: mulino dominillo on June 22, 2014
at 7:31 am
We certainly do need something like this in Bagni di Lucca. It would be great to see this community work together.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:22 pm
Oh, I loved Spello! And I was lucky enough to see the Infiorata in Giubbio some years ago….fantastic!
By: suej on June 22, 2014
at 7:48 am
Spello is a gorgeous town, so is Gubbio. They will become regular places for us to visit.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:22 pm
🙂
By: suej on June 22, 2014
at 10:12 pm
what a breathtaking display of colors in flowers. Almost unreal and it would be wonderful to have a small version of this at a local level in country Queensland. Used to have a Floral Festival each year at the Maryborough Anglican Memorial Church but sadly the number willing to do the preparation fell away, but perhaps seeing these pictures would revive the Festival.
By: Claire Dahl on June 22, 2014
at 8:08 am
I would love to see something like this happen in Australia. There are such great teams of people working together to make something beautiful.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:23 pm
How wonderful. I really must make a point of going there next year to see this. I’m sure you said in an earlier post about a nice b & b there. Beautiful pics as always x
By: janetknight57 on June 22, 2014
at 8:31 am
Fab photos. What an event!. Enjoy the procession.
By: chris oconnor on June 22, 2014
at 9:50 am
After waiting quite some time in the hot sun, I watched a very short procession walk past me and on up the street.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:30 pm
WOW!! I can well imagine how spectacular the finished designs must look! Can’t wait for the unveiling Debra.
By: Madhu on June 22, 2014
at 11:00 am
The finished tapestries were amazing…such intricate work and all with flower petals.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:29 pm
Thank you so much Deb…. I feel transported back to Umbria. The preparations are an inspiration in themselves, the finished designs a fleeting moment of perfection. Enough to make us all believe….in something good at least. Human nature maybe? x
By: janinevasta on June 22, 2014
at 11:02 am
It is amazing to watch these things appear from boxes of flower petals. Some people were working with tweezers to create the images.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:28 pm
Wow, what a beautiful festival. I had read about this but had only ever imagined what it would look like and your photos show that it is more than anything I could imagine. Thank you.
By: twoblackdoggies on June 22, 2014
at 11:09 am
The finished creations were incredible. I got up at 6.00am to see them without crowds.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:32 pm
We were staying in camiore few years ago and had the privilege of seeing this festival. It was amazing and we have never forgotten how absolutely beautiful it was. Enjoy the beauty and the celebration! These are the memories I carry with me from holidays.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
By: Maxine on June 22, 2014
at 11:37 am
That’s quite a gorgeous display! It’s such transient art. It reminds me of sandcastles or ice sculptures that will disappear moments after they are completed.
Just pulling all the petals apart looks like a labor of love, but the act of placing them in the proper squares is intense.
By: Jackie Cangro on June 22, 2014
at 1:41 pm
Some people were working with tweezers to get tiny petals in the right place.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:33 pm
Loved spending the day there in 2012 during corpos domini…….Spello becomes magical in so many ways. One of the Italian events on my bucket list I would definitely love to do again.
By: sealights99 on June 22, 2014
at 3:05 pm
Spello is a beautiful town. It is great to see people take so much pride in where they live.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:34 pm
Incredible. How long does the flower petal murals last?
By: Jean on June 22, 2014
at 5:44 pm
The murals would not last more than a day.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 22, 2014
at 9:35 pm
Wow, I’m speechless. Can’t believe how gorgeous!
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
By: Kathryn McCullough on June 22, 2014
at 9:35 pm
Love this post, Debra. I have only seen photos before of the Infiorata di Capodimonte. One question – are the ‘flowers’ in Spello actually coloured wood shavings?
By: kayrpea61 on June 23, 2014
at 9:45 am
You can actually see people pulling flowers apart and chopping them up, so I think it is all flower petals and seeds. It certainly takes a long time to put it together.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 24, 2014
at 5:42 am
The town itself is so pretty and with this event it must smell so beautiful too. What wonderful and clever community involvement for something that is, just like the petals, so fleeting.
By: Jan on June 23, 2014
at 11:13 am
I think it is a wonderful thing for a town to do. Bagni di Lucca could do with a bit of this community spirit.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 24, 2014
at 5:43 am
Absolutely lovely and well done. I’m not knowledgeable about carpet making…how do they get the flowers to stay in place?
By: Nakia M. on June 23, 2014
at 11:38 am
Barriers are put around the site to help keep out wind and rain, but apart from that I could see no fixatives being used. The carpets are lightly sprayed with water, which would help them stick together a bit.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 24, 2014
at 5:44 am
A town and a community that is proud of who they are and enjoy it. That is great!
By: Nicolet on June 23, 2014
at 3:43 pm
I would love to see it happen here in BdL.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 24, 2014
at 5:45 am
Thanks for taking us through the steps of this fascinating tradition. Your detail gave us a very good picture show of the process. Can anyone join the bishop trampling through the streets?
By: Judy Spinney on June 24, 2014
at 3:45 am
The barricades come down just before the procession and the bishop and his little group walk over the carpets. Then everyone is free to walk behind, but most people were walking around them as it seems a pity to destroy the beautiful carpets. I left shortly after the procession, so I don’t know how long the flowers lasted.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 24, 2014
at 5:47 am
Hi Deb, your photos are divine, Oh how I miss all those beautiful flowering pot plants. I was in Castelraimondo a few years ago for an Infiorata. Stunning and the atmosphere is fabulous.
By: Lyn on June 24, 2014
at 6:18 am
I loved the Infioriata, such an amazing festival.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 25, 2014
at 4:56 am
You find the best festivals! Amazing what they do with the flowers.
By: aFrankAngle on June 24, 2014
at 12:02 pm
I will try another town next year.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 25, 2014
at 4:56 am
WOW! What a great work, Thanks and Love, nia
By: niasunset on June 24, 2014
at 12:38 pm
It is amazing what people can do when they work together.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 25, 2014
at 4:55 am