The Transport of Macchina di Santa Rosa is an UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity that is held in Viterbo every year on the night of September 3rd. The Macchina di Santa Rosa is a huge tower lit by torches and electric lights, made of light metals. It is about 30 metres high and is carried on the shoulders of a hundred facchini (porters) for a distance of about one kilometre, which starts from the church of San Sisto and arrives at the church of Santa Rosa, passing through the streets of the city. It is a very ancient tradition that dates back to the 13th century. The tradition of Trasporto della Macchina di Santa Rosa takes its origin from a specific event. On 4 September 1258, the body of Rosa, who died in 1251, was found intact, and was transferred on the shoulders of some cardinals, in the presence of Pope Alexander IV, to the monastery of San Damiano. It is now the church where the saint is still kept and venerated.
Ever since, a hundred men called Facchini di Santa Rosa (porters), on the night of September 3rd, carry on their shoulders, and through the narrow streets of the medieval city, the Macchina di Santa Rosa, a huge tower 30 metres high (98ft) and 51 quintals of weight (about 11,000 pounds). The transport is accompanied by a parade of a band playing the traditional Saint Rosa’s music.
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