ROME: BIG NIGHT 150 CELEBRATION

 

Rome plans to throw a colossal all night street party to celebrate the 150 th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. The theme will be Red, White and Green, the colours of the Italian flag, with the emphasis on national unity and the history of the Italian Risorgimento.

For the event, many monuments and important buildings will be floodlit, with special effects projected onto the facades. The festivities will start off with a televised show in front of the Quirinale Palace, official residence of the President of Italy. Street musicians, acrobats and dancers will enliven the Roman Forums, the Trastevere district, the Gardens of Piazza Vittorio, the Colosseum, Piazza del Cinquecento in front of Termini Rail Station, Via del Corso and several city parks. Military bands will accompany the youth choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in a programme of traditional Italian songs of the Risorgimento at the Altar of the Fatherland, Victor Emmanuel Memorial, while a recital of patriotic Risorgimento songs will be performed by the Orchestra Popolare Italiana and choir of the Auditorium Parco della Musica at Romes Termini station square. All events in the programme are free of charge.

In addition, many museums, libraries and cultural institutes in the city centre will be open to the public throughout the night, with free entrance.

One of the highlights will be the midnight firework display at the Celio Park above the Colosseum, which will reproduce the spirit of the spectacular displays created in the early 19th century. The grand finale will be the projection of 20 smiling faces in the sky, representing the 20 Italian regions, followed by the Olympic rings symbol to wish Rome good luck in its bid to host the 2020 Olympics.

For information: www.italiaunita150.it

Posted on 14 Mar 2011 by Editor
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