THE MACCHINA DI SANTA ROSA AT EXPO MILAN 2015

The structure, almost 30 metres tall and weighing about 5,000 kilos, is carried every 3 September by about 100 men through the streets of the town for over a kilometre. Renewed roughly every five years, in 2015 two “Macchine” were active: one at EXPO and the other parading for the first time on 3 September. A UNESCO heritage item for about a year, the symbol of Viterbo moved to Milan, facing a difficult journey because of its size. “Flower of the Sky”, the heart of Tuscia, will shine far from its natural land for six months and will be the only physically present monument of our Italy within the Universal Exposition. It is the first time the Macchina di Santa Rosa has left Viterbo, and it has certainly taken with it the hearts of all Viterbo’s citizens, for whom this journey is felt as a true source of pride.