The provincial mega-festival. This is the yearly festival for the matron saint of the province capital: Viterbo.

This festival is famous for the 'Macchina di Santa Rosa', a towering monument to Saint Rose that a group of people from Viterbo known as 'Facchini' carry through the city each year on their shoulders. This tradition is in keeping with a vow made by the people of Viterbo to the Patron Saint for having saved their life during a pestilence in 1657.

What makes this so impressive is that the 'Macchina' is over 90 feet (28 meters) tall, and weighs 11,000 pounds (5,000kg). This weight is distributed over the Facchinis shoulders.

Being one of the Facchini is a great honor for the Viterbese, reserved only for the strongest men in the city.

Every five years, the City Council advertises a public competition to choose the new “Macchina” and a board judges the sent plans, proclaiming the winner.

Besides the Macchina, this festival is quite exciting, full of parades, music, amusement rides, and so much more. It is without doubt one of Italy's great festivals.