Paper Lantern Festival in Florence

The paper lantern festival is also known as ‘Festa Della Rificolon’ and will be held in Florence, Italy. This is an annual event to celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary on the 7th of September.

The paper lantern festival in Florence originated in the 17th century. This is when farmers would head to the basilica of Santissima Annunziata in Florence to commemorate the birthday of the Virgin Mary. They would start walking before dawn and used paper lanterns to light their path to the basilica. Once they arrived at the basilica, they would pray and offer the fruits of their harvest.

This tradition still exists today. A week before the event there are workshops where they learn the children to make the most elaborate, colorful, and beautiful shaped lanterns from papier-mâché.  The parade starts at 8 pm at the Santa Felicita square. While the children, parents, and visitors walk with their brightly colored lanterns to the basilica they sing a song.  It goes like this, ‘Ona Ona Ona ma che bella rificolona’ and is about the beautiful lanterns.

If you want to visit the paper lantern festival in Florence read this article to learn more, and check our guide ‘Best Time to Visit Italy‘. Or, read our article about other festivals in Italy and see where else you can go.

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