Monday, January 6 is a great party in Castelfiorentino, when in conjunction with the open shops (“sales” already started from January 4) the streets of the city center will be animated by the presence of the Befana, The Procession of the Magi on horseback and games and shows for the joy of all children.
Start in Piazza Grandi from 3.00 p.m. (Church of Santa Maria della Marca) with the Procession of the Magi on horseback, accompanied for the occasion by the participants of “Steps of Light” and musicians and flag-wavers of the contrade San Pierino and Le Botteghe di Fucecchio, that will follow the following itinerary: Via Benozzo Gozzoli, Piazza Cavour, via Garibaldi, Corso Matteotti, Piazza Gramsci, via Vittorio Veneto, via Tilli and finally Piazza del Popolo, where the ceremony of the deposition of gifts in the presence of the Nativity (nativity scene in front of the Church of San Lorenzo).
Around 3.30 p.m., in Piazza Gramsci, will begin the distribution of socks (with contribution) in the stand set up by associations, and at 4.00 p.m. – after the usual tour of sweets distribution to retirement homes – will also appear the Befana, that on board a transport as ever singular will walk the streets of the natural shopping center with its mysterious helpers, available as always for a souvenir photo or to distribute sweets, in an atmosphere of joy and fun for all children. There will be the opportunity to follow the “traces” of the Befana also in the shops that have joined the initiative.
At 4.50 p.m. appointment in Piazza Gramsci in front of the Theatre, where children can participate blindfolded to the game of “pinata”, and at 5.00 p.m. attend the show “Barba Fantasy Show” scheduled at the Teatro del Popolo. A show in which the audience becomes the protagonist together with an irreverent little man dressed in red, with a fantastic and imaginative beard that is both a mask and a source of inspiration.
In the upper part, possibility to visit “La via dei Presepi” with more than twenty artistic and artisanal cribs made by the castellani presepisti as part of “Terre dei Presepi”: from the “Meteorological Nativity” to the bright one; from the handmade cribs scattered through the streets of the center to those present in the former prison mandamentale (via Tilli). Among these, we remember the “Technological Nativity” (set up with monitors and mobile phones, which carries the message “more passion, less connection. Less network, more faith”) and the nativity “A door open on hope”, which was created by the pupils of the primary and pre-school schools of the Comprensivo together with the “San Giuseppe” and “Santa Maria Goretti” Joint Preschool Schools, and which particularly strikes the pilgrims, numerous and of many nationalities: a way to unite the whole humanity, On the way to find the meaning and beauty of their life.
“A Castellana Epiphany in the name of sociality and spirituality – emphasizes the Councillor for Culture, Franco Spina – that sees protagonist this virtuous collaboration between many associations that are present in our territory, which with their sensitivity give richness and added value to this festival, in which coexist the attention dedicated to the fun of children and the most authentic spirit of this celebration, represented by the arrival of the Magi and the “Via dei Presepi”.
