The Infiorata, or Greeting to Spring, is a popular
feast
started in 1979. It takes place every year in Via Corrado Nicolaci, on the third Sunday of May.
The first Infiorata brought the masters of Genzano (a province in Rome) to Noto. They arranged flowers in geometric and imaginative patterns. With the passage of time, the experience has been handed down and has become a veritable local tradition.
Sixteen large pictures are created on Via Corrado Nicolaci using petals, and each year a different theme is decided by the local government to inspire the master infioratori. The artists present their sketches to the municipal government, which selects the best ones.
The decoration covers the entire street for over 120 metres and each artist has a picture measuring 6 metres wide by 4 metres long.
This way, they create a beautiful floral carpet, formed mostly of petals from daisies, carnations, gerberas, roses and wildflowers of various sizes and colours.
The theme changes year after year, but the Infiorata is always opened by the city’s coat of arms made by the Istituto d’Arte di Noto (Noto Art Institute).
In recent years the Infiorata has been accompanied by the “Corteo Barocco” (Baroque Parade) that evokes the splendour of the families that made the city of Noto great.
