© entry 2008
The
Festival of Piedigrotta
As early as 1487 there is
mention in chronicles of the “festa di Santa
Maria della Grotta” held on the 7th and
8th of September at the church now known as S. Maria di Piedigrotta
near the eastern end of the "Neapolitan Crypt,"
the ancient Roman tunnel
that leads beneath the Posillipo hill. That was at
once a sort of combination of the pre-Christian
and the Christian since the tunnel was said to be
the site of ancient religious rites.
The true,
popular Fesitval of Piedigrotta begins in the 1830s
when a yearly festival was declared and, indeed,
proved to be the launching of the commercial aspect
of the so-called Neapolitan
Song, a yearly song-writing contest that has
given us such songs as 'o sole mio and Funiculì-Funiculà.
For many decades, the yearly festival meant the
parading of crowds, musicians and
horse-or-people-drawn floats along the length of the
Villa Comunale from the
eastern end of the Riviera di Chiaia all the way to
the church, about a mile away.
Times have changed
Modern urban congestion cut into
the festivities, and it is difficult to see how a
festive throng could move along the Riviera di
Chiaia these days, for example, now that part of it
is blocked due to the construction of the new subway
line. Fortunately, the parallel seaside road, via
Caracciolo, provides an alternate route when they
decide to have the festival at all. The crowd also
wanders through the Villa Comunale, itself, to
follow the festivities and displays that are set up
within the grounds. Also, the festivities usually
cover more than the old two-day time span; they run
for a number of days centering on Sept. 8. This
year, the festival runs from the 4th through the
13th; it presents a grand program of music, pop as
well as classical, and will feature, among others,
the Neapolitan singer-songwriter, Nino d'Angelo and
operatic tenor, José Carreras. One of the MCs is
Sophia Loren. They usually kick off at the vast piazza Plebiscito, the
favorite venue for huge popular festivals. For a
number of years, until quite recently, the festival
was not only no longer a yearly affair, but had
simply disappeared; now with the regeneration of piazza Plebiscito
and a sort of cultural renaissance going on, they
manage to get it in once in a while, and this year
is one of those whiles. There will be fireworks
galore. Last year, the Mt. Vesuvius float caught
fire, which, I suppose, was fitting, but totally
unplanned. The fire brigade had to show up and put
out the volcano. Good practice, perhaps.
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