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The Feast of "La Palombella" - Orvieto |
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Religious events in Orvieto The feast take place on the square outside the Cathedral. At 12 p.m. on Pentecost Sunday the Bishop of Orvieto waves a piece of white linen from his Palace in front of the Cathedral. At this sign the Master Mason lights the torches placed around a cage tied with red ribbons holding a white dove. This then slides rapidly along the wire towards the Cenacle that is erected in front of the main door of the Cathedral. When the dove arrives at the Cenacle, a round of fireworks explodes and the red flames, of which the Scriptures speak, light up on the heads of Our Lady and the Apostles. The dove is then brought with festive solemnity into the facing Bishop's Palace where it receives the homage of local dignitaries and towns people Last, the dove is given, as a sign of peace and fertility, to the last bride who celebrated her wedding in the Cathedral, who pledges to keep and look after it until its natural death. The Story A long time ago, in 1387, amidst the explosion of fireworks and showers of rose petals, the small dove took her first flight inside the Cathedral. In 1524, a noblewoman, Giovanna Monaldeschi of Cervara, willed her estate, the Castle of Sala, to the Orvieto Cathedral, so that the feast with the flight of the dove will always be kept alive. |
Picture by Beltrame/Domenica del Corriere
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