Cavalcata dei Magi 2020

Cavalcata dei Magi 2020, the religious tradition that recreates the pilgrimage of the three Wise Men for the birth of Jesus, will take place on the occasion of the Epiphany, on January 6, in Florence.

Epiphany is the feast that celebrates the revelation of the Incarnation of God as Jesus Christ, and the visit of the Magi to the Child.

SHORT HISTORY

The Cavalcade of the Magi already existed as a tradition in the 15th century, when a company of laymen known as the Santi Re Magi (Holy Magi Kings) organized a festive procession through the streets of Florence. Initially, the procession was held every three years and, after 1447, every five years.

The cavalcade comprised of three groups of people, who met in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, and marched together to the Basilica of San Marco, where they sang hymns and prayers dedicated to the Christ Child.

The Medici were also members of this company, which was prohibited after their exil from Florence, in 1494. In the following centuries, the celebration underwent many changes and lost its religious meaning, until it simply ceased to be held.

Cavalcata dei Magi was resurrected in 1997, on the occasion of the Seventh Centennial of the Cathedral of Florence.

PROGRAM OF THE EVENT

On Monday, January 6, 2020, the procession led by the Three Wise Men on horseback, dressed in magnificent silk costumes, accompanied by about 700 people, will wind along the streets of Florence, from Piazza Pitti, passing over the Ponte Vecchio bridge, through Piazza della Signoria, to finally reach the Piazza Duomo. Here, in front of the Cathedral, the Magi will place their gifts at the foot of the crib.

The procession will start around 2 pm, reaching Piazza Duomo after about one hour and a half.