From the Festival of Waxes to flower displays, a journey through popular rites, colors, and identities
local
In May, many Italian traditions return to occupy the city centre: squares, streets
historic, churchyards and ceremonial routes welcome festivals that involve entire communities.
Italian Traditions offers a journey through some events still planned in the heart
of the month: from the Ceri carried on shoulders in Gubbio to the floral carpets of Noto, from the Marriage of the
Venice Sea at the Orvieto and Scarperia flower gardens.
Gubbio, the Feast of Waxes and the Rite of Sant’Ubaldo
On May 15th Gubbio stops for the Festa dei Ceri, the rite dedicated to Saint Ubaldo, patron saint
of the city. It is not a historical reenactment nor a race in the strict sense, but a celebration that
It marks the year of Eugubine and involves the city from the early hours of the morning. The wait begins
already on the first Sunday of May, when the Ceri are brought back from the Basilica of
Sant’Ubaldo, on Mount Ingino, in the historic center.
The day follows a precise order. At dawn the drums wake Capitani and Capodieci, then the
Campanone calls the city. After the mass of the ceraioli, the parade and the investiture of the Captains,
The most anticipated moment comes at 12 in Piazza Grande with the Alzata dei Ceri. From there the three
wooden artefacts, weighing approximately three quintals each and surmounted by statues of
Sant’Ubaldo, San Giorgio and Sant’Antonio, are taken through the streets of the centre before the
Good table.
In the afternoon, the procession with the statue of Saint Ubaldo precedes the race. At 6pm the Ceri
They start from the church of the Neri and cross Gubbio until they climb towards the Basilica. The order
it doesn’t change: the patron saint’s candle runs in front, followed by Saint George and Saint Anthony. Not
It’s important to finish first, but respect the ritual and complete the race.
Noto, the Infiorata and the Baroque in a pop key
In Noto, in south-eastern Sicily, May coincides with the Infiorata, one of the most
notes of the baroque city. The 47th edition is scheduled from 16 to 19 May 2026 in via
Corrado Nicolaci, in the heart of the historic center, with visits from 9 am on Saturday until 11 pm
Tuesday. The exhibition takes shape as early as Friday 15 May, when the master flower growers
prepare the floral carpets intended to cover the road.
The theme chosen for 2026 is “Pop Culture Tells Its Story”: music, cinema, fashion, comics and
twentieth-century artistic avant-gardes thus enter one of the symbolic places of the Baroque
netino. The demonstration works precisely on this contrast: on the one hand the buildings
eighteenth-century and sculpted balconies, on the other figures and languages of mass culture translated
in floral sketches.
For a few days the road becomes an open-air tunnel, built with petals, leaves and
natural materials. The result is destined to last a short time, but requires a long work of
design, drawing and laying. The Infiorata does not use flowers as a simple ornament: they
transforms into narrative matter, capable of interpreting a different theme within a
city that has made Baroque architecture one of the strongest elements of its identity.
Venice, Orvieto, and Scarperia – other May Traditions
In Venice, on May 17th, the Festa della Sensa brings back to the lagoon one of the oldest rites of the
city. The water procession will start from the San Marco Basin towards San Nicolò del Lido, where
renews the Marriage of the Sea: the symbolic gesture with which Venice reaffirms its bond
with water, navigation and the history of the Serenissima. The day will be accompanied
also from the regattas, which mark the morning and recall the rowing tradition
Venetian.
In Orvieto, from May 22nd to 24th, Orvieto in Fiore accompanies the Palombella Festival,
linked to Pentecost. The program passes through the historic center with flower displays, processions,
flag-wavers and musicians, the Palio dei Balestrieri, horticultural market, exhibitions, workshops,
shows and urban trekking. The central moment remains Sunday 24 May, at 12pm, in
Piazza Duomo, with the traditional flight of the Palombella in front of the cathedral.
In Tuscany, on May 24, Scarperia dedicates the 45th Infiorata to “Collodi and the adventures of
Pinocchio”. From 10 to 22, the historic center will be crossed by floral paintings inspired by the
most famous puppet of Italian literature, along a route involving Via Roma,
Piazza dei Vicari and Piazza Clasio. Schools, associations, traders and
citizens: a choral participation that renews the theme every year without interrupting the
connection with the village.
The value of the May holidays
Between Umbria, Sicily, Veneto and Tuscany, the May festivals show how traditions
Italians continue to live outside a purely celebratory logic. I’m not alone
events to be observed, but practices that require preparation, presence and participation: i
Waxes to carry in the race, floral carpets to compose, the procession of the Sensa to follow in
lagoon, the flower beds to be built street by street. It is in this concreteness, made of time,
work and local involvement, that each appointment retains its own value.