UNESCO and Viterbo's Santa Rosa Festival

This weekend  I attended an evening  with the promoters of the  UNESCO  project  held inside the Museum of  Viterbo's   cathedral or Duomo. 

Walking through San Pellegrino quarter  I noticed the Christmas lights were already  ablaze, adding a lovely blue hue to the  ancient peperino  stone walls and buildings.

  Roman candles lit the entrance of the Museum of the Duomo creating a  romantic aura. As I walked to the conference room  my iPad camera caught a few special objects along the way. 

entering the Museo del Colle del Duomo 

a capital  from medieval column , Museo del Duomo 

Diana of Ephesus statue in the Museo del Duomo

Santa Rosa,  Museo del Duomo, Viterbo 

Poems were read, the Bishop spoke and those present  wished the committee safe travels to Baku in Azherbijan where, on December  5^th , the decision of the commission will be made  during the UNESCO  sites  annual meeting.   

 In the past 5 years  Italian nominees  accepted  include  lute making in Cremona, Sardinian pastoral songs and the  Mediterranean diet.

Porters of S. Rosa (photo F. Pignatale) 

       

Few outside of Viterbo  know that back in  2010 the city  joined  forces with the towns of Nola, Sassari and Palmi  (Gubbio declined, wanting to do it on their own ) to enter the competition hoping  to  have their  shoulder borne processional structures declared  as objects of intangible heritage by  UNESCO.

Partnering with Viterbo’s Macchina di Santa Rosa in the competition are:

-The "Gigli di Nola"  a  procession of eight obelisks made of wood and papier mâché  in honor of Sant Paolino, representing  the boat which brought the Saint to land.

the Macchina turns a corner (photo F. Pignatale) 

-The "Varia di Palmi", a complex processional structure carried in honor of Our Lady of the Holy Letter.

-The "Candelieri" in Sassari, Sardinia, wooden obelisks which make a  choreographic performance dedicated to the Virgin.

Each celebration  promotes  intense cultural activity that allows citizens to get in touch with all the nuances of the intangible heritage.  Children also are involved in the transmission activities and  in the case of Viterbo’s mini macchine,  carry  smaller processional structures on their shoulders.

  

On the contrary, the well known Venice Carnival and Palio di Siena both  failed to meet the  UNESCO’s strict  guidelines.

Stay tuned for the verdict  to be given on December  5th.  

A positive  verdict  will give lustre to the  centuries-old  festival and hopefully  increase tourism in this ancient, medieval city. 
See  also   this post to learn more about the festival.  
See how to become a porter of Santa Rosa   here:  interview with the  President  Massimo Mecarini. 

UNESCO World Heritage site of Cerveteri

two colors of tufa for this  tomb  

Last week  we invited  young American archeologists  Tim and Erika  to describe their visit to  Tarquinia, one of the area’s  two UNESCO  World Heritage  sites. 

beehive shaped  funerary mounds 

The other is   Cerveteri, further south in the province of Rome,  which I visited  this week for the first time  in over  40 years, when it was  a favorite field trip for  my  international school students  back  in  the  60s and 70s . I hope  some of them who read this will  leave a comment, here below. 

entrance  drive to Banditaccia necropolis 

carved rings   decorate the tomb mounds 

my book on the area is available at the bookshop

cart ruts   dating from  300 BC

columns  with  carbon inclusions 

path among  the tombs 

Not much has changed  at the Banditaccia necropolis  since that time,  only the  majestic pines   which flank  the entrance drive  have grown and their roots have made  the  road  bumpier , but  visitors are even  more welcome thanks to the new   snack bar and  bookshop.

Isabella at the snack bar 

taking a break at the snack bar 

When  I visited  with student groups years ago  a packed lunch  was imperative and  we had to be sure to bring our own flashlights   in order  to see anything in the dark tombs.

Another change is that the Tomb  of the Reliefs , the most important,  is now  sealed off  with a glass door, like Tarquinia’s painted tombs, for protection. 

walking among  the tomb mounds 

dromos  entrance  to tombs

Tomb of the Reliefs 

below the tree, the Tomb of the Reliefs

The atmosphere felt in the necropolis  is still  awe inspiring,  mysterious and lush.  

This “City of the Dead” is a  peek into how the Etruscans  lived, what they found important and   how they perceived life after death.

closeup  of the  tufa stone blocks 

The   tombs, excavated in  tufa  stone, have   rooms  and funerary beds  to  recreate what the Etruscan homes looked like.

Outside the dromos  entrance way there are often  phallic symbols or cippi  for male occupants, or  house shaped   cippi  for female burials. 

Have you visited  either Tarquinia or Cerveteri ?  Which is your favorite Etruscan site?