An ancient tradition that of the explosion of the cart in Florence, this is how the story was born and where and when it is possible to witness the explosion of the cart in Florence.
Easter, a religious feast of great popular traditions, has its own Florentine peculiarity in Explosion of the Cart.
The chariot has a name, Brindellone, a nice name for an object dear and familiar to the Florentines. The Brindellone "leaves home" only once a year, on the morning of Easter when it explodes among a thousand rockets right in front of the Duomo of Florence. This ancient ancient tradition is full of meanings, even if its spectacular nature makes it a moment of great attraction for tourists in the city.
Let's proceed in order: everything dates back to the first Crusade in the Holy Land in which the Florentine Pazzino de 'Pazzi took part, who brought with him three stone flakes from the Holy Sepulcher. The flakes were allegedly delivered to him by Goffredo di Buglione himself and in any case they are still preserved in the beautiful Romanesque church of Santi Apostoli.
In the city, the scales began to be used to create the sparks of a sacred fire - a sign of purification and a symbol of Christ's resurrection - which was distributed to the faithful to take it into their homes. The noble Pazzi family had a fully decorated wooden cart built, ancestor of what we see today, a chariot of fire that set fire to bring fire to all citizens.
La tradition it never stopped and the ceremony is repeated the same, year after year. On Easter morning a crowd of musicians and flag-wavers awaits the Brindellone's exit from his garage located in via Il Prato; you recognize it, it is a single wooden door narrow and very high, not far from the Villa Medici hotel. The wagon comes out and is attached to two pairs of white oxen all flowered and dressed up.
The procession starts, moving slowly along an established path that winds through the center and is impressive because it is made up of about 150 people among flag-wavers, musicians and other figures.
In any case, you must arrive shortly before 11 in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, inside which the Easter morning mass. A large crowd of onlookers has gathered in the square. The cart is positioned between the Cathedral and the Baptistery, detached from the oxen and connected to the dovetail wire.
At 11 in the Cathedral the "Gloria" is sung and the archbishop sets fire to the fuse that makes "fly" that is a dove-shaped figurine that must set the chariot on fire. The colombina is already very spectacular, it moves very fast on the heads of the faithful crossing the entire interior of the Cathedral which is notoriously large!
The Brindellone bursts because it is all covered with firecrackers and fireworks; it is the dove who sets them on fire and starts the whirlwind of bursts and fires, very scenic, very noisy. Then the dove goes back on its cable towards the interior of the Cathedral and there is a belief that the flight must be smooth, otherwise it will be a harbinger of bad harvests - once, today of poor fortune for the city.
The feast of the outbreak of the chariot is very popular and well known; until a few years ago barriers were mounted in Piazza del Duomo, but now not anymore, access is free and whoever gets there first can enjoy the scene.
In recent years the tradition of the outbreak of the cart has also spread to towns located around Florence. It is not the same chariot, of course, but the tradition is quite similar.
The appointments are therefore on Easter morning: in addition to Florence you can find other "explosions" in the vicinity, in fact a cart, actually quite different, can also be found in Figline Valdarno, in the scenic Marsilio Ficino square.
A cart bursts in the square for Easter too Greve in Chianti, right on the central and beautiful square Matteotti of elliptical shape.
