![]() ![]() Saints Peter and Paul: 1950th Anniversary of Deaths Scott 1653-1654 (2017) Today, the focus of Americans turns to the celebration of Independence Day, the Fourth of July 4. People across the country will engage in some of the time-honored traditions of the day: parades, cook-outs, historical reenactments, and at night, fireworks. People of all ages are drawn in awe to the colorful explosion of fireworks that cap off the festivities of the day. But did you know there is another tradition involving fireworks that predates the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence by close to 300 years? It’s true! But these fireworks take place in Rome. Each year on June 29, as part of the celebration to honor Saints Peter and Paul on their feast day, fireworks are launched from atop Castel Sant’Angelo, the second-century fortress located to the east of Vatican City. And a few days ago, on June 29, 2025, the "Pinwheel of Castel Sant’Angelo" returned to skies over Rome. Here is one illustration of the fireworks display, taken from a painting from 1775: ![]() "Fireworks over Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome", by Jakob Philipp Hackert Source: Wikimedia Commons; image in the public domain Two popes from the 15th and 16th centuries played a role in the establishment of fireworks display known as the “Girandola” (which translates to “Pinwheel” in English). ![]() ![]() Left: Pope Sixtus IV, Scott 583 (1975) Right: Pope Julius II, Scott 1539 (2013) Art historian Elizabeth Lev states that the fireworks display date back to the pope who commissioned the Sistine Chapel: Pope Sixtus IV. Lev states: “In 1481 he decided to give the Romans a theatrical display of lights and sound that would rival the other great cities of Italy — Venice and Florence.”The tradition was continued by one of his successors, Pope Julius II, into the early 16th century. At that time, an observer from the papal court described the display by saying it looked like “the sky itself was tumbling down.” ![]() ![]() Left: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Scott 387 (1964) Right: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Scott 673 (1980) The fireworks display also reportedly influenced two of the great artists of the Renaissance: Michelangelo and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. In fact, Michelangelo’s interest in fireworks, found in one of the first publications on metallurgy in Europe, “De La Pirotechnia,” (“Of Pyrotechnics”), written by Vannoccio Biringuccio in 1536, hint at his participation in the ceremony. The book also gave rise to the term “Roman candle”, which is still used to describe a form of fireworks today. In 1641, Bernini was inspired to design fireworks mimicking the eruption of the Stromboli volcano off the north coast of Sicily. Courtney Mares, in her article from the Catholic News Agency referenced below, provides an eyewitness account by a giant from another segment of the arts, the author Charles Dickens: ”Dickens…witnessed the Vatican fireworks show during his 1844–45 visit to Italy in which he stayed in Rome during Holy Week. Dickens described the “great display of fireworks from Castle of St. Angelo” in his 1846 book “Pictures from Italy.”The fireworks tradition was suspended in the late 19th century due to damage at the Castel Sant’Angelo. However, the fireworks show was revived in 2008. As with the Fourth of July fireworks, where the explosion of fireworks brings to a close a day of fun and remembrance in the United States, the “Girandola”, celebrating the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, concludes a day of festivities, prayers, and processions honoring the two great co-patron Saints of Rome. Click on the link to Courtney Mares' CNA article below for additional details on the fireworks tradition, and to view more of the artwork created over the years to capture the spirit of the "Girandola". REFERENCES: |