Every July, as summer reaches its peak in Palermo, Sicily, and the searing daytime temperatures demand near nocturnality, Sicilians take to the streets for the Festino di Santa Rosalia (affectionately called U Fistinu). A celebration of the city's patron saint, who is credited with ending the deadly plague of 1624, the festival is Palermo's grandest annual event. At its heart is a spectacular evening procession through the city's historic centre, led by a towering triumphal float, known as a carro, carrying an effigy of Santa Rosalia.
Earlier this week, the city gathered for the 402nd edition of the centuries-old tradition, which, as locals will tell you, goes well beyond religion. It is something deeply spiritual that taps into a collective memory almost primal in its intensity. 'We all need a little madness,' reflects architect Mario Cucinella, who this year was invited to design the great carro. One of Italy's most celebrated architects, Cucinella admits the commission was daunting, particularly knowing his work would be experienced by the estimated 400,000 people gathering in the city.
Festino di Santa Rosalia chariot by Mario Cucinella
Born in Palermo in 1960 before moving with his family to the province of Piacenza, Cucinella graduated in architecture from the University of Genoa. After working alongside Renzo Piano, he founded MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects, now headquartered in Bologna and Milan. Known for its environmentally responsive architecture, the practice's work spans hospitals, schools, galleries, residential, urban masterplans and exhibition design, but this marks the studio's first venture into designing a ceremonial festival float.
‘The carro evokes Palermo, a garden city where vegetation climbs in terraces, intertwining memory and identity’
Mario Cucinella
Rather than creating a theatrical stage set, MCA conceived a temporary piece of architecture. 'The carro evokes Palermo, a garden city, much like Monte Pellegrino, where vegetation climbs in terraces, intertwining memory and identity,' explains Cucinella, referring to the mountain that rises above the city.
The structure is loaded with symbolism. A series of stacked timber plinths references the mountain's topography while bright blue bas relief Saladin stars and Norman knot motifs acknowledge Sicily's intertwined Arab-Norman heritage. Integrated into the timber terraces are 40 planters holding more than 150 locally sourced plants – including bay laurel, fan palm, holm oak, mastic, myrtle, wild olive, phillyrea, rosemary and frangipani – transforming the float into a vertical Mediterranean garden.
The choice of plants is particularly resonant. Born around 1130, Rosalia, the daughter of a Norman noble family, is said to have fled an arranged marriage to live as a hermit on Monte Pellegrino, where she died around 1166. Nearly five centuries later, during the plague of 1624, her remains were discovered and carried through Palermo in procession – a moment the city credits with ending the epidemic.
On MCA's carro, the planting rises through the structure before dissolving into a cloud of some 300 illuminated butterflies that spiral around the saint at its summit. Representing transformation, rebirth and collective liberation, they create a luminous halo around the figure of Santa Rosalia. In her hand, she carries a striking blue cross carved by Palermitan artist Filippo Sapienza from the timber of migrant boats that reached Sicily's shores – a poignant reminder that Palermo has long been both a place of arrival and a place of refuge.
The carro formed the centrepiece of a much broader production, art-directed by Luca Pintacuda of Odd Agency, which won the tender for the festival for the third year running alongside partner Coop Culture. Video projections transformed the city's historic façades, while drones, dance, live music and fireworks turned Palermo itself into a stage, tracing a narrative that stretched from the arrival of Arab forces in 827 AD to the city's contemporary identity.
Projects like this, Cucinella says, offer a welcome counterpoint to the years-long process of designing buildings. They allow the studio to engage with the public immediately, rather than waiting years to see their work inhabited. And while the carro is temporary by design, it's expected to be installed somewhere in the city after the Festino, giving the structure a second life beyond the procession.
Palermo's annual Festino di Santa Rosalia, between ritual and spectacle
On the evening of the Festino, that engagement was immediate indeed. As the carro began its slow journey from Palazzo dei Normanni through Palermo's historic centre, Cucinella remained almost hidden within the structure. Visible only in silhouette against its illuminated interior, he looked out over the streets below, where spectators crowd the pavements and spill from balconies overhead.
Guiding the chariot 2.5km through Palermo's historic centre is a huge logistical operation involving scores of security personnel and volunteers. At one point, Santa Rosalia becomes snagged on overhead wires, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd before a technician swiftly climbs a ladder to free her path. There is a unique intensity that elevates the celebration beyond carnival, into something closer to ritual.
At Quattro Canti, Palermo's theatrical Baroque intersection, the procession briefly comes to a halt. The mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla, emerges on the carro's platform, raises his voice – 'Viva Palermo! Viva Santa Rosalia!' The crowd erupts into chant as confetti and streamers rain down overhead.
'I've never experienced anything like it,' Cucinella says afterwards, still absorbing the enormity of the spectacle he helped create. For one night, architecture became theatre, ritual and civic celebration all at once.
mcarchitects.it