SCOPPIO DEL CARRO

Not to be missed! This tradition, literally "explosion of the chariot", dates back to the First Crusade, in which the Florentines took part, and celebrates the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. Today, every Easter Sunday, a large ^18th-century float decorated with garlands is pulled by white oxen through the streets to Piazza del Duomo. A steel rope connects it to the cathedral altar. During the midday mass, the archbishop lights the fuse, and the float, filled with fireworks, explodes to the delight of the spectators.