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Trastevere turned out en masse yesterday evening, eager to continue the celebration of La Madonna Fiumarola that began a week ago. (Click here for an account of the elaborate procession that kicked off the festivities and for details of the Madonna herself.) While last weekend saw the 90 kilo wooden statue touring Trastevere’s narrow streets and alleys in the company of Roman centurions, medieval knights, and mounted police, this weekend the Virgin blessed the neighborhood of Trastevere from a boat on the Tiber River that was navigated by the Vigili del Fuoco, Rome’s trusty firemen. Curious onlookers, as well as those faithfully devoted to Trastevere’s most esteemed religious image, lined the bridges and the river banks to witness the statue’s watery journey from Castel Sant’Angelo to the Tiber Island.

La Madonna Fiumarola made the journey down the Tiber River at sunset (making photographs extremely difficult to take!). A select group of clergy joined her in the fire boat (the far right boat in the photo above) and led prayers and chants by means of a loudspeaker and they slowly made their way down the river amidst police pontoons, 8-person and 4-person sculls, a riverboat full of civic dignitaries, and several boats of devoted servants who distributed colorful balloons across the river’s murky water.

Arriving at a river boat dock near Tiber Island, the Madonna was greeted by the same police band that escorted her through the neighborhood last weekend. After disembarking, she was carried amidst a huge cheering crowd to the neighborhood’s main basilica, Santa Maria in Trastevere, for an overnight visit. Later this evening, having completed her tour of duty for 2007 (the same tour she’s been doing since the early sixteenth century), the statue will be transported back to her home church of Sant’Agata, just a few blocks away.

Roman legend says that in 1535 fisherman working in the Tiber River were surprised to discover that they had netted a box that held a beautiful wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. The miraculous catch was taken to be a sign from God, and so the fishermen hurried to carry the statue to the nearby church of Sant’Agata in Trastevere. From that year onward, the statue – commonly known as the Madonna Fiumarola – has been honored each July with a ritual procession, a popular festival, and a boat ride down the Tiber River.

Though the original statue was lost in 1730 and replaced with a wooden replica, there’s never been a year without a procession. Even during World War II, while the San Lorenzo district on the other side of town was being bombed, the barefoot faithful of Trastevere silently carried their Madonna through the streets of Trastevere.

This year the procession took place on the evening of Saturday 21 July (because the Madonna Fiumarola is distinguished as the Madonna of our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the procession always take place on the Saturday following the the Feast of our Lady of Mt. Carmel on July 16th) and was attended by thousands.

The procession was led by Roman centurions belonging to the Gruppo Storico Romano who seemed a bit out of place at a Christian festival, but nonetheless proved to be excellent bodyguards for the holy statue.

Despite religious differences and sweltering temperatures, the centurions (who, by the way, were accompanied by the Roman Emperor and his wife as well upper magistrates) came decked out in formal dress with such fur hats as that shown above being among the finest garments displayed by the troops (though we’re always a bit partial to chain mail).

Had the lineup of centurions failed to offer adequate protection, next in line were the mounted police, their horses chomping at the bit as they waited through the many delays created when the Madonna paused to bestow her blessing on various parts of the neighborhood.

The marching police band accompanied the Virgin and chants led by clergy members and followed by devout spectators were broadcast over portable microphones.

Spectators by the thousands lined the route: some bore gifts for the Madonna while others showed off traditional and formal headgear (and happily posed for photos, we might add).

Next in line was a cultural association with its members decked out in Renaissance finery.

Following was a host of confraternities, each sporting elaborately embroidered banners.

Then arrived high-ranking church officials who greased the palms of spectators and occasionally found themselves the subjects of jarring visual contrasts.

Finally the Madonna herself arrived. The honor of carrying wooden statue (which alone weighs some 90 kilos) in her elaborate parade litter is given to 30 young men who hoist the massive contraption onto their shoulders. The incredible weight of the statue and the litter make it impossible to travel more than a few hundred meters at a time.

This year the Madonna appeared in a celestial blue dress. Each year she gets a new frock and these are often created and donated by leading designers. We’ve not been able to discover who created the 2007 garment, but the designer of the 2006 dress was Alessandro Pischeddu. Accessories are important as well. Because she is cared for by the Carmelite order, she carries in her hands the well-known Carmelite scapular (though we fondly refer to her as the Madonna of Two Handbags).

The procession took the Madonna from her home church of Sant’Agata, throughout the Trastevere neighborhood, to the church of San Crisogono where she remained on display until midnight. At midnight, in a ceremony lit by fiaccole (large candles) and accompanied by religious songs, she returned to Sant’Agata.

This annual procession kicks off Trastevere’s Festa de’Noantri (more on that in an upcoming post) which will last until Sunday 29 July. The Madonna will make another appearance on the final day of the Festa de’Noantri when she will acknowledge her watery origins by boarding a boat on the Tiber River, just below Castel Sant’Angelo, and floating downstream to Trastevere.