ELAINE QUEHL, Quilt Artist, Teacher, Dyer, Designer

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Italy 2012: The Town of Spello and the Infiorata

Today I want to talk about one of the most beautiful towns I've visited in Italy.  My camera was poised at every stop in Spello.  A walled, hillside town with an ancient Roman history, Spello holds a Festival of Flowers (L'Infiorata) each June, coinciding with the religious feast of Corpus Domini.  We happened to visit on the Saturday that residents were engaged in preparing for the next day's spectacle of flower art.  It appeared that everyone also competed to have the best flower decorations on their doorsteps.  It made for stunning photography at every stop.

This is the front gate into the ancient walled portion of the town.

Charming narrow streets and walkways with beautiful old stonework and arches greeted us inside the gates.

The other flower that was in bloom all over Italy is the Yellow Broomflower.  It was used liberally in floral arrangements around the town.


I'd say this was the most heavily flowered town I've seen.



Here's my husband, lost in a sea of flowers.

These residents left their garden gate open, inviting visitors to step in and have a look.


Even this kitty had a floral mat to lie on.

Love these blue chairs!

There were many beautiful side lanes to wonder down, that offered stunning vistas of the countryside.


There was a feeling of "busyness" around the town, as many took part in preparing flowers for the overnight creation of art.  These three girls let me take their picture while they dismantled flowers and sold lavender sachets.

These two women were also engaged in taking flowers apart.  They offered small bundles of flowers for a donation.


Tents were erected around town in areas where flower art was being created.  Here you can see an elaborate pattern on paper.

On Sunday morning the town filled with visitors who had come to see the flower art.  Here are a few examples.  A good percentage of the art was religious in nature, but not all.



These three nuns posed for a picture.

The tradition of flower festivals runs deep in Italy.  I found flower decorations on sidewalks in other villages as well.  This small shrine and sidewalk were decorated at Monte Castella di Vibeo

There were flower petals on the streets in Trevi.  In fact, the storm grates were filled with them.  They must have had a flower festival of sorts on the Festival of Corpus Domini as well.


6 comments:

  1. Your pictures are fabulous. Thanks for sharing the beauty you found on your trip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What beautiful streets and doorways adorned with flowers. Spello's chamber of commerce needs to use some of your pictures! I knew you'd find a cat to photograph.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Martha. You knew there would be a kitty, didn't you! Well there will be an entire post soon devoted to the cats of Italy! Stay tuned ...

      Delete
  3. It looks like you had a fantastic trip, Elaine. Thanks so much for sharing your photos. They are gorgeous. I love flowers so this is a little like looking at paradise! Your weather appears to have been splendid as well. Ask me about Scotland!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carolynn, the weather was splendid! You can tell from some photos that it was a bit overcast at times, but there was only a bit of rain one day, and the second week we had blue skies the entire week. Just how blue you will see in the next post.

      Delete

Your posts are important to me. Due to a huge amount of SPAM on my blog recently, I have decided to moderate comments, at least for the time being. Please be patient, your post will be approved as soon as I can get to it.
Elaine