Great celebrations in Rome for the feast of the patron saints, with performances, shows, exibitions, fanfare, and fireworks in musical sync, called Girandola (pinwheel), originally created by Michelangelo and reworked by Bernini. This is a liturgical feast in Rome, and offices and shops are closed. Civic museums and Vatican Museums are closed for the solemnity. Statal Museums and Archeological sites (as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Castel Sant’Angelo, Galleria Borghese) are regularly open.
Regatta on the Tiber
At 4.00 pm the fourth edition of “La Coppa della Girandola”, the rowing regatta on the Tiber river. The competition field, on a distance of about 450 meters, is the stretch between Ponte Cavour and Ponte Regina Margherita with the arrival at the historic floating San Giorgio della Tevere Remo.
Piazza del Popolo
At 8.00 pm in People’s Square, great performance of the Carabinieri’s Fanfare of the 4th mounted regiment, and then show of the Roman Carnival.
The highlight of the event will be at 9.30 pm, when on the terrace of the Pincio the Girandola will be light up, in sync with a classical musical repertoire.
This year the Girandola in Piazza del Popolo promotes a fundraising campaign for the hearing impaired children of the Paul VI Effeta Institute in Bethlehem, organized by the Modavi Onlus.
For safety and security reasons, controlled checkpoints will be open from 7.30 pm and entry, even if free, is for a limited number of people. The spectators are invited to arrive in time to facilitate control operations. The event will end at 10.00 pm.
Saint Peter’s Square
Another traditional event is the Infiorata of Piazza San Pietro. The colorful event will take place in the morning and throughout the day and will involve Via della Conciliazione, Saint Peter’s Square and Pio XII Square.
Over a thousand masters florists, coming from Italy and from all over the world, will set up the floral paintings of the Roman Infiorata, an event that has 400 years of history. Masters florists begin to compose their paintings with flower petals in the afternoon of June 28th. Visitors can admire the works before and after the Angelus on Friday 29th at noon, and throughout the day of the patrons feast.
