en
What is the "Infiorata"?
The "Infiorata" is the creation, throughout the streets of the village, of floral carpets and pictures with flowers, seeds, and leaves that grow spontaneously in the surrounding hills of Farnetella.
The inhabitants of the village begin searching for flowers several weeks before the celebration of the Corpus Domini, and on this occasion, they create a soft flower carpet with religious images or motifs inspired by their imagination. Every year, the motifs and designs created are different, depending on what nature offers.
The carpet will serve as a guide for the Solemn Procession, which will be accompanied by the "Pietro Mascagni" Band of Farnetella and equipped with the historical vestments preserved at the Confraternity of Santa Croce in Farnetella.
The "Infiorata" is not only an expression of ephemeral art, but also a testimony of love for this village, confirming how people can still feel like a community and live in the alleys of their village.
Origins
In the statutes of the Community of Farnetella dating back to 1559 there is an clause entitled "Del modo di fare la festa del Corpusdomini" (about the way to celebrate Corpus Domini), which testifies to how much this celebration was felt by the people of Farnetella already at that time.
However, the tradition of creating the "Infiorata" to celebrate the Ss.mi Corporis Christi dates back to 1778, when the first "Infiorata" was created in Genzano and from there spread throughout Italy.
The historical memory of the village residents dates the first "Infiorata" in Farnetella to the last decades of the nineteenth century, but it is from the 1920s that there are certain and photographic sources of the "Infiorata" created in the same ways and dimensions in which we still know it today.
The Festival
The afternoon festival is the continuation of the celebrations for the "Infiorata" and was born as a moment in which various artistic genres come together.
Literature, music, art, and gastronomy blend with the "Infiorata" and give life to an event that gives space to innovative and independent artists, remaining faithful to the context of a small village in the Sienese countryside.
