Festivals
With the piazza's demolition and reconstruction, the continuity of the area's festivals was broken. For example, the Palio dei barberi ceased in the 19th century, as did the two Easter day processions that led up to the Scoppio del Carro (the Brindellone procession drawn by oxen from near Porta al Prato, and the procession with the fire, solemnly lit in the church of the holy apostles. Its centrality in city life did not diminish, however, particularly in the first years of the twentieth century, when the cafes facing onto the piazza became a meeting-place for artists and men of letters.
Read more about this topic: Piazza Della Repubblica, Florence
Famous quotes containing the word festivals:
“This is certainly not the place for a discourse about what festivals are for. Discussions on this theme were plentiful during that phase of preparation and on the whole were fruitless. My experience is that discussion is fruitless. What sets forth and demonstrates is the sight of events in action, is living through these events and understanding them.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)