Easter, or Pasqua, is one of the biggest holidays in Florence, and this year, Easter just so happened to fall on another very important holiday: my birthday. Actually, I don't like birthdays, so I was very happy that I could hide in the shadow of Pasqua for the day.
Florentines are mostly Catholic, so the Pasqua holiday is a big deal. The days that lead up to Pasqua felt almost like Christmas because of all the decorations and sales. In every shop window, you can read 'Auguri di Bouna Pasqua!' And in every supermarket, they have 'uova di Pasqua.' It means Easter egg, but it's not what you think it is. It's not a chicken egg, but a big chocolate egg with a toy inside. It's like their version of a chocolate Easter bunny. Also, there are no Peeps.
So, to celebrate Pasqua and my birthday, we went to see the Scoppio del Carro, or 'the explosion of the cart.' It seemed like a strange tradition to me at first, because I don't usually associate ecclesiastical holidays with explosions, but it looks really cool, so it doesn't matter why. I think it has something to do with the tongues of fire that surrounded the apostles on Pentecost, but that seems a bit of a stretch.
Anyway, it seemed like the entire city came out to see the Scoppio del Carro, and it was a good thing we got there when we did because it got very crowded very quickly. I wasn't sure how an Italian pyrotechnical show was going to hold up American fireworks standards, but I was pleasantly surprised. See for yourself: