Behind the Scenes

Surely everyone knows the Corso Fiorito and almost everyone has attended at least one edition. Maybe, instead, not everyone knows what is behind the scenes, what it means to set up a flower cart, especially referring to the way things went in the past years.

Starting from the origins and for several years afterwards, the operations were mainly of an amateur and artisan level but, starting from the editions after the Second World War, the preparatory work for the preparation of the floats became quite complex and it was necessary to start planning the work several months before the event.
First of all it was necessary to present to the organising committee a project with a detailed description of the subject and the planned floral decoration and also a colour sketch to illustrate the proposal. To carry out this work, many people relied on the skilful hand of a young designer at that time still almost unknown: Rino Ceriolo, who became very famous and appreciated for his brilliant successes as a graphic designer, set designer, or other related activities, as well as creator, supervisor, and true magician of the flower floats of future editions.
In that period the subject of the floats or cars was free, left to the imagination, inventiveness and skill of the creators/fitters.
Among these, over the years, to remember: Cina Cagnacci, Giuseppe Carbonetto, Lindita Biggio and the Bernocchi brothers (florists with shop in via Z. Massa), f.lli Ziviani (in via Roma ang. via Gioberti infer.), Alberti (in p.le C. Battisti), Bonfante (in via Roma), Ebe Flora, A. Anfossi, G. Pesante, Barla e Lentisco, Ada Moriano, etc..
It was necessary to look for more or less suitable environments for the work of setting up in good time. In particular, in via Z. Massa, there were very coveted sheds normally used as sheds for wagons, carriages or square cars (located in the two curves called "giri di carusséi"), which, although in precarious conditions, were very spacious and particularly suitable for large vehicles. Alternatively, any room with driveway access and not too far from the parade route was acceptable.
In this regard, since 1953 the Municipality granted the use of the premises of the new bus station below Piazza Colombo, although it was still under construction, thus putting an end to a long-standing problem.
Moreover, it was necessary to find the vehicles to be decorated; they were not always of a homogeneous type, so it was normal to see horse-drawn carts or carriages, cars and lorries more or less large, united by the flowers that covered them. The favourite among the wagons was the so-called "carrin", with a low platform and variable longitudinal arrangement, easily adaptable to the different set-up requirements.
Finally, it was necessary to hire the "team" of workers, which was often confirmed from one year to the next, except for a few replacements or new entries according to the operational needs foreseen.
Apart from a small contribution from the Municipality, all the costs, from the design to the time of the fashion show, were borne by the fitters, including of course the flowers, which during the winter period were certainly not at full price and often the more expensive ones such as roses, orchids and strelitzie were used.
The technique for creating the structure of the wagons had to be based more on the inventiveness of the workers than on the poor tools and materials available at the time. Everything was used, from wood to iron rods, from straw to pad the shapes to be decorated, to papier-mâché (made with newspapers and flour glue) and whatever else was considered useful to obtain the desired result, facing and overcoming with great tenacity the various difficulties that presented themselves.
All the work was carried out by hand, with great expenditure of physical and nervous energy, in the middle of winter, with the hands numb, during the day and also at night, sometimes eating only a sandwich and drinking hot coffee to stay awake, always in a hurry, with very short times, in cold, drafty environments without any comfort: it's easy to imagine that it wasn't really a restful activity, but the passion and the will helped to endure the many discomforts, allowing you to present flower floats that were often real works of art made with the fresh and colourful flowers of Sanremo.
The traditional technique required the flowers to be pierced one by one, with the stem, (and there were thousands for each wagon!) on the silhouettes of the subjects, in order to create the colourful and fluffy tufts so admired by the spectators; the flowers did not simply decorate the wagons, but covered them completely, becoming an integral part of their own structure.
The floral decoration was carried out in a single day, during the night before the parade, between Saturday and Sunday: the preparatory phases could be extended for several months, but the application of the flowers had to take place in a very limited space of time to allow them to always appear fresh and full of vitality. And it is thanks to the skill of the designers and groups of fitters that they could create fantastic faces, dresses, settings and figures as if by magic, all created only with flowers, offering every year a breathtaking show that enchanted, and still enchants, the eyes and hearts of many thousands of spectators and that has consecrated Sanremo as the authentic and unique "City of Flowers".
The costumes and the figures who climbed on the floats deserve a separate mention. The costumes were inspired by the subject and if some of them were handmade and ... homemade, others, richer and more elaborate, with fine fabrics, tulle and sequins, required the work of professional seamstresses, but, in any case, always with impressive results.
A place as a member of the floats was particularly sought-after and in addition to relatives and friends, the flower of youth, especially women, competed to participate; there were those who booked from one year to the next and those who used recommendations in order to ensure their presence on the floats, considered among other things as an index of merit and prestige.
The day of the parade was always a great feast for everyone: young and old, both Italian and foreign, crowded along the barriers to admire the floats and take part in the thick throwing of confetti, streamers and bundles of flowers, which began only after the first of the three laps. At the most appropriate points, stands were set up to allow spectators to follow the show with greater comfort.
The role of the tank builders was inevitably changed from a real creator to a simple tank builder, allowing them to apply only part of their vast technical experience, without being able to demonstrate their artistic skills in the most complete way.
Even the technique of applying flowers was changing, abandoning the traditional one, to adopt other more modern, quicker and cheaper forms such as the so-called "tackling", consisting in using only the corollas (the so-called "heads") of the flowers that were literally nailed to the shapes to decorate. However, in the opinion of many, the visual effect certainly lost something in terms of elegance, lightness and depth in favour of a compact, uniform image without relief.
The whole context was inexorably changing: after a period that was almost pioneering and adventurous, but more "human", new and different regulations were being imposed, much stricter and above all, unfortunately, there was almost no room for the imagination, inventiveness and creativity that could be expressed in previous years.
After a long interruption, the Corso Fiorito has recently returned to be the "highlight" of Sanremo's calendar of events and is followed every year by tens of thousands of spectators who come from all over Italy and abroad to watch the parade live, while other thousands of people watch the show on television.
In more recent times the preparation of the floats has undergone profound changes, with the use of ready-made templates and the aid of modern materials and technical means that allow a considerable saving of labour and effort ..... The preparation of the wagons takes place for everyone inside the bus station, like a great choral, collective work, in an atmosphere of convivial alacrity. However, it is clear that in order to bring the decoration work to a successful conclusion with results adequate to expectations, it is always necessary to have a great mastery of techniques and a remarkable aesthetic and artistic sense: only in this way is it possible to present to the public the wonderful works of art that everyone admires.
Unfortunately, very often, at the most important moment, that of the parade, when one sees with regret that the television footage offers only a partial view of the floats or dwells on irrelevant details, or one notices with regret that the spectators, like so many modern Vandals, assault the floats, trying to tear off almost ferociously some flowers to exhibit when they return home like a war trophy, one cannot help but think, with a touch of emotion, nostalgia and bitterness, of all those who, over the course of so many years, have worked in silence behind the scenes, amidst so many difficulties, with so much passion, to create a wonderful spectacle like the flowery course and consider that they should deserve more respect, attention and gratitude from everyone.