On September 7, Florence celebrates the Rificolona, one of the city’s best-loved popular festivals, especially among children. On the eve of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, streets and squares fill with traditional colorful paper lanterns, while a rhyme familiar to generations of Florentines can be heard throughout the city.
“Ona, ona, ona,
o che bella Rificolona!
La mia l’è co’ fiocchi,
la tua l’è co’ pidocchi!”
The origins of the Rificolona
As often happens with very old traditions, there are several explanations for the origins of the Rificolona festival.
One of the most evocative theories links the lanterns to the entry of Florentine troops into Siena in 1555: according to this tradition, the soldiers carried lights fixed to the ends of their poles.
The explanation most commonly associated with the festival, however, refers to the large market held in Florence around September 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
Farmers and traders came in from the countryside to reach Florence and Piazza Santissima Annunziata, where one of the most important markets of the year was held. To arrive in the city in the early morning, they set off during the night, lighting their way with lanterns protected by paper or cloth coverings.
From farmers’ lanterns to children’s rificolone
Over time, those simple lights used along country roads became the rificolone: colorful paper lanterns traditionally hung from the end of a cane or stick.
The festival gradually became especially popular with children, who make or carry their own lanterns as they walk through the streets of Florence. The glowing rificolone are accompanied by the traditional rhyme, often sung together in groups.
There is also a rather mischievous custom linked to the lanterns: children used pea shooters to try to pierce one another’s rificolone, breaking the paper and attempting to put out the candle that was once placed inside.
The Rificolona and Piazza Santissima Annunziata
Piazza Santissima Annunziata remains the place most closely associated with the Rificolona. This is no coincidence: it was here that the market welcomed people arriving from the surrounding countryside on the eve of the Marian feast of September 8.
The history of the Rificolona therefore tells us much more than the story of a children’s festival. Behind the paper lanterns lie rural life, old markets, Marian devotion and the constant relationship between Florence and its surrounding territory that helped shape the city’s identity.
A Florentine tradition to experience
This may be the true charm of the Rificolona: a simple and immediately recognizable popular tradition that has passed from one generation to the next. For many Florentines, memories of the festival are closely tied to childhood, colorful lanterns and September walks through the streets of the city.
For visitors to Florence at this time of year, discovering the story of the Rificolona is also a way to encounter a city beyond its famous museums and monuments: the Florence of popular festivals, public squares and traditions still deeply connected with its history.
