On Easter morning all Florentines crowd aroud the cathedral to see what the "Colombina" will do. The "colombina" is a rocket, shaped like a dove (dove=colomba in Italian) that is lit during the Mass (during the "Gloria"). So the colombina flies to the cart that is located exactly outside the main door inbeteween the Cathedral and the Baptistry, to explode it.
The explosion of the cart is a very old tradition that dates back to the First Crusade (1099) when the Florentine Pazzino de Pazzi, first raised the Christian flag on the Jerusalem walls that had just been freed. This is the reason why Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, commander-in-chief of the freed Jerusalem rewarede Pazzino with 3 chips of stone from the Sepulcher of Christ that he brought to Florence.
The 3 chips were used to lit the Paschal candle – the new fire that is a clear symbol of the ressurection of Jesus- that was brought with a cart to all houses of the Florentines, first of all that of Pazzi.
The cart, at the beginning very simple, is now tryumphant and it is called "il Brindellone".
It leaves from porta a Prato, it is driven by two pairs of oxen and it arrives in Piazza del Duomo, among the Baptistery and the Cathedral and there waits to be burst by the colombina.
The sacred and the profane are mixed at this festival that is more than 900 years old: if the colombina flight is easy and so the explosion is good, then it will be a good year for everyone: good crops in fields and good business!
If you also want to get good wishes from the explosion of the cart and be part of the rich history of Florence, remember that the Mass starts at ore11.00 and so do not delay!
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