Star, my Beautiful Star, I Wish that…

August 9, 2011 by Anna Merulla / Tags: August , event , falling stars , Genoa , Italy , Liguria , San Lorenzo , San Lorenzo night , shooting stars , stelle cadenti / 1 Comment

August 10th in Italy is a special date, it is La Notte di San Lorenzo, called also La Notte dei Desideri (The Night of Wishes). This night is famous because it is the best time to see the shooting stars “stelle cadenti in italian”.

Due to different scientific reasons, in this period (from the end of July to August 20), the Earth is in a particular phase. During those nights it is possible to see a great number of shooting stars, meteor, that enter the Terrestrial orbit. But, who is a dreamer don’t really care about the scientific explantion…

Many italians lie on a beach or on a field in the hinterland and watch the sky, waiting for the next shooting star to cross it. When they see a star they make a wish and hope it will come true! Every falling star they see they say “Stella, mia bella stella, desidero che…”, literally is “Star, my beautiful star, I wish that…”.

The Feast of San Lorenzo dates back to the mid-200s, when San Lorenzo, was martyred and burned. The Legend says that San Lorenzo, as the church of Rome’s librarian and archivist, was thought to have a list of all the members of the early church and hidden treasures.

On August 8, in year 258, two days after the Emperor Valerian executed the Pope and deacons, he ordered Lorenzo to produce all the Vatican’s wealth. On August 10, Lorenzo arrived to the palace with all the diseased, orphaned and crippled Christians and boldly told the emperor that these were the true treasures of the Church; for this he was executed.

As legend holds, Lorenzo was executed by slowly being roasted on the grill! Furthermore, it is said that instead of revealing the Church’s wealth, Lorenzo, while burning on the grill, gathered the strength to tell his executioners “Turn me over. I am done on this side.”.

Nowadays, people in Italy believe that the shooting stars seen on August 10th are the sparkles of the giant bonfire where San Lorenzo was burned.

So, do not forget San Lorenzo night and keep your eyes toward the sky to see the next shooting star! Buona Notte di San Lorenzo a tutti!

In Genoa this special night is celebrated at museum diocesano with “Le Lacrime di San Lorenzo“.

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