“Festa de Noantri”, the festival of us others – a name that highlights the “otherness” of the people living in Trastevere, in opposition to all other Romans coming from the other side of the Tiber. An ancient festival that blends the sacred and the profane, enlivening the streets of the Rione in the height of summer and celebrating its identity.
The origins of the festival in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Madonna Fiumarola (“Our Lady of the River”) are shrouded in legend and date back to 1535, when some fishermen found a statue of the Virgin Mary carved from cedar wood at the mouth of the river. Donated to the Carmelite friars of the church of San Crisogono, the statue was first placed in the church of San Giovanni dei Genovesi and then transferred permanently to its current location in the church of Sant’Agata, thus becoming the patron saint of the Trasteverini. Every year, on the first Saturday after the feast of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel, celebrated on 16 July, the statue of the Virgin, covered in jewels and precious garments, leaves its home to be carried in procession through the streets of the Rione and by boat along the Tiber.
Alongside its traditional celebrations, this year’s festival features numerous events dedicated to entertainment, music and activities for all ages, hosted in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, Piazza Mastai, Piazza dei Ponziani, Piazza San Francesco a Ripa, the Giardini di Donna Olimpia (with theatre workshops for children on 22 and 24 July) and the Museo di Roma in Trastevere. Music, theatre and readings, multimedia performances and conferences-shows will enliven Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere and Piazza San Francesco a Ripa until 27 July, while from 6 pm onwards, Piazza Mastai will be transformed into a food and wine village with Roman-inspired street food stands, guided gastronomic tours and activities for children. Piazza Ponziani will offer an itinerant experience through the hidden stories of the neighbourhood, while guided tours of the Museo di Roma in Trastevere (on 24 and 25 July) will take us on a journey through popular Rome between the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Religious celebrations remain, of course, at the heart of the festival. On Saturday 19 July, the statue will leave the church of Sant’Agata at 5.30 pm and will be carried in procession along Viale Trastevere, reaching San Francesco a Ripa and San Cosimato, before returning to the church of San Grisogono. On Sunday 27 July, at 6.30 pm, the river procession will depart from the Circolo Canottieri Lazio, reaching Ponte Garibaldi and then ending at Sant’Agata, accompanied by traditional fireworks. On Monday 28 July, the day will begin with Mass at 6.30 am. At 7.30 am, the procession will leave Sant’Agata, passing through Santa Maria in Trastevere, Via della Scala and Via della Lungaretta, before returning to Sant’Agata.
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