The Windmill of Castel Sant'Angelo.

June 29, 2012



For the feast of the Patron Saints of Cities, SS Peter and Paul, not to be missed at Castel Sant'Angelo!

On June 29, 2012 confirms the tradition of THE WINDMILL of Castel Sant'Angelo, the phantasmagorical spectacle of fireworks, introduced in 1481 for the exaltation of the papacy of Sixtus IV and brought to light thanks to the meticulous philological research of Cav . Giuseppe Passeri del Gruppo IX Invicta.

Lungotevere Tor di Nona, Lungotevere Altoviti , Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II,Ponte Principe Amedeo Savoia Aosta,  Ponte Umberto I and Via Banco Spirito are the lookouts, around Castel Sant'Angelo, advised the public to better enjoy the show.

 

Today, thanks to a very sophisticated technological apparatus which makes use of radio control units for the ignition of the burners, 18 technicians and a designer is able to cope - in absolute safety for them and the surrounding environment - at a job that in past, saw the participation of over 100 men, with considerable savings on costs of labor that would otherwise be prohibitive. The creation of mixtures of fires following the dictates and directions of the old masters, to ensure the intensity and color brilliance.

But what was the Windmill? 

"The Maraviglia of Time" was born in Rome in 1481 by Pope Sixtus IV, and from that point is then used to celebrate major events and religious holidays of the year, like Easter, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul and the coronation of the new PopeWindmill and explain what that was, for over three hundred years is complicated, as it would be reductive to define a simple fireworks, because the Windmill was an event that attracted spectators from all over Europe, an event where foreigners flocked to every grade and social class until 1861, when the vagaries of time and memory are then relegated into obscurity this ancient festive time during which the Castle, and Rome itself, became a stage for spectators on the opposite bank of the Tevere.

According to tradition it was Michelangelo Buonarroti, the creator of the Windmill in the period in which to work, commissioned by Pope Julius II, is the historically established subsequent reworking of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who honed the set of the movement.

Today, thanks to technology that uses radio control units for the lighting of fires, 18 technicians and designers are able to do - safely - the work we undertook a time over a hundred men. Scrupulously faithful to the ancient Windmill are the mixtures of the fires, to ensure the brightness and colors of the Renaissance. All this, with great technical and complex as those of the past: 5 points for starting the fires, over 400 "acceleration", 600 "Roman candles" and "fountains falistranti".

The Windmill 2012 is sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture and is sponsored by the Capitol (Department of Cultural Policies and Historical Center, the Cultural Commission) and the Ministry of Heritage and Culture. Design, layout and organization by the Invicta Group IX, in collaboration with Zètema Culture Project.

Where

Castel Sant'AngeloLungotevere Castle, 50

Time

21:30

 FREE ADMISSION