Capitolo IV.3

8 April 2007.

Easter is important for Catholics. Here in Florence they have an interesting tradition to mark the Easter Sunday: the Scoppio del Carro (literally, and rather incredibly, the Explosion of the Wagon). It is basically a surreal show of pyrotechnics. A dove-shaped rocket is launched from the Cathedral, and it flies out the door along a wire to light a carriage outside at the piazza. Furthermore, the carriage itself is loaded with fireworks. There’s rockets, smoke, and a lot of cameras. A lot of religion too, I am sure.

After a long wait, they finally opened the gates to the stadium this week. I went to the stadium to check out the atmosphere, and ultimately decided to get a ticket for the match. Not everyone was happy with the new security measures: the sandwich vendors outside the stadium were protesting, apparently after being banned from setting up their stalls in front of the stadium gates. In the end, Fiorentina beat Ascoli handsomely, 4-0, and everyone was happy.

What better time and place to exhibit Ferraris than an open square in the middle of the night?