Croce Rossa Fiaccolata 2001: Torchlight Procession and Celebrations

Preparations are in the final stages for the 2001 Fiaccolata of the Croce Rossa, organized by the Museo Internazionale. The route between Solferino and the town of Aloisiana will take place on Saturday, June 23, and will, as every year, be a traditional and impressive event, as well as highly anticipated.

Starting from Thursday, June 21, hundreds of members of the Croce Rossa from around the world will be stationed, with further events, meetings, and demonstrations taking place on Friday as well. The highlight of the event will be the torchlight procession on Saturday evening.

From 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the San Pietro area, participants will begin transportation via shuttle bus to Solferino. Here, starting at 3 p.m., street performers will perform in Piazza Castello and Piazza Torelli.

Opening Ceremony and Torchlight Procession Route

At 7:45 p.m., in the square not far from the Rocca, the opening ceremony will be held, and at 8 p.m., a procession of torchbearers on foot will depart towards Castiglione. Here, at Piazza Repubblica, at 10:30 p.m., the closing ceremony will take place after the procession’s arrival.

From 9 p.m. onwards, in Castiglione, it will also be possible to see street performers.

The route of the torchlight procession is 6 kilometers long, along the municipal road between Solferino and Castiglione, and is meant to symbolically retrace the path taken by wounded soldiers from the battlegrounds to the places of rescue in 1859.

“The event, unique in its kind — reads the informational brochure — is being restarted for the ninth time, in the historic sites that gave birth to the greatest secular idea of solidarity and peace in the world.”