Infiorata - Flower Art Festivals in Italy

Flower Petal Tapestries and Mosaics for Corpus Domini

Many Italian towns hold infiorata, flower art festivals, during May and June (look for posters announcing an infiorata). Flower petals are used to create amazing works of art in the streets or in abbeys, a really beautiful sight. In some places, the infiorata is a simple flower-petal design in front of the church. Larger infiorata create several different panels, each with a different picture, but often centered around a theme.

To create the picture, the design is first sketched in chalk on the pavement. Soil is usually used to outline the design and then it's filled in with thousands of petals and seeds, much like the making of mosaics or tapestries (but with different materials). The entire process takes two or three days to complete. Often a religious procession takes place on the flower carpets after there are completed.

One of the most famous infiorata festivals is in Noto, Sicily, usually held the weekend of the third Sunday in May. Noto is a beautiful Baroque town and UNESCO World Heritage site in southeast Sicily (see Sicily map). Read more about the Noto Infiorata.

On mainland Italy, the date for the infiorata is usually Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi), a holiday celebrated nine weeks after Easter. Find out more about Corpus Domini and the Miracle of Bolsena on Italian Notebook. Top infiorata include:

• Brugnato, a small town in the La Spezia province of Liguria inland from the Cinque Terre (see Liguria map) holds an infiorata the Sunday of Corpus Domini. Work starts in the early morning to create flower tapestries along the streets of the town center. Visitors can view the flower art in the afternoon and there's a procession from the cathedral over the tapestries at 6pm. James Martin made an Infiorata of Brugnato video showing the creation of the flower art during our Sunday morning visit.
• Bolsena, north of Rome (northern Lazio map), carpets about 3km of pavement with flower tapestries along the route for the Corpus Domini Sunday procession. The Miracle of Bolsena occurred in this town on Lake Bolsena. Bolsena-guida has infiorata photos and infiorata information.
• Genzano di Roma, south of Rome, has been holding an infiorata since 1778. Italian Notebook has more information and some beautiful photos.
• Spello, in the Umbria region (see Umbria map), is another very popular place for infiorata. Italian Notebook has a few photos of the Spello infiorata.
• The Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba, near Fidenza in northen Italy's Emilia Romagna region (see Emilia Romagna map), is one of several abbeys that create flower tapestries inside for Corpus Domini.

Corpus Domini and Infiorata dates: 2009 Corpus Domini date is June 11, 2010 is June 3, and 2011 is June 23. Look for infiorata or flower petal displays in front of many Italian churches.

See more June Festivals and Events in Italy.