Viterbo's Macchina di Santa Rosa

September each year sees one of the most beloved and important festivals for the people of Viterbo, the Macchina di Santa Rosa. An imposing luminous structure about 30 meters high weighing 5 tons, which on the evening of the eve of the feast in honor of Santa Rosa is carried on the shoulders of about 100 porters along the streets of the historic center for more than a kilometer. Crucial then is the work of the porters, who wear a traditional white uniform with a tight red belt at the waist and a leather-covered headdress. The transportation of the Machine begins with a blessing "in articulo mortis" that the bishop gives to the porters, who are about to embark on a perilous task transporting the colossal structure. At the end of the blessing, the porters begin the procession in Piazza San Sisto to arrive in front of the shrine where it remains for a few days before being stored for the following year and then rebuilt every five years.