Historical re-enactment of the Miracle of the Snow in Santa Maria Maggiore 2025

Everything is ready for the 42nd edition of the Historical Re-enactment of the Miracle of the Snow in Santa Maria Maggiore, the enthralling event born in 1983 from the sharp and devoted vision of architect Cesare Esposito.

Starting at 9 p.m., the Fanfara dei Carabinieri conducted by Maestro Danilo Di Silvestro performs classical music and hymns, including Mameli's anthem. The square in front of Santa Maria Maggiore is flooded with the traditional sonorous light show, luminous projections on the beautiful fountain and the buildings in front of the basilica, and opera arias sung live by Soprano Mary Prosperi and Baritone Giuseppe Milli.

The performances and shows are crowned by the evocative snowfalls that, starting at 9.30 p.m., every 30-40 minutes, the last one at midnight, transform the square into a magical white expanse as in 358 A.D., and by the flight of the angel that, around 10.30 p.m., twirls above the heads of the spectators amidst large balloons, sound architectures and sparkling confetti.

The patroness of the evening, presented by Angelo Blasetti and Pietro Romano, is Laura De Luca.

Poets and poems tell the story of the Madonna della Neve (Madonna of the Snow): Elisabetta Pamela Petrolati, Michele Cioffi, Concezio Salvi, Angelo Mancini, Stefano Tozzi, Roger Peace, Ilda Tripodi.

Architect Esposito dedicates the reading of a treaty to Rome, to Italy 'the world's greatest cultural power, to Pope Francis and to Michelangelo.

This year, the event is dedicated to the Supreme Pontiff Leo XIV, to the memory of Pope Francis and to world peace.

THE HISTORY

It was 5 August 358 A.D. when Rome woke up under a blanket of white snow. An unusual event, which is still recounted, year after year, generation after generation, and which gave rise to what has gone down in history as “the miracle of the snow”. But how did this myth come about? According to legend, on the night of 5 August 358 A.D., the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to the then Pope Liberius and the patrician John, asking them to build a church in the place she would indicate. When they awoke, the Pope and the patrician found the Esquiline Hill covered with snow, in the middle of August. The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was then built on the site where it snowed. Every year, on 5 August, the long-awaited anniversary is celebrated, attracting Romans and tourists from all over the world.

The programme may be subject to change