The mimosa flower has become the symbol of Women's Day here in Italy and its blooming in our country - obviously depending on the latitudes and climate - generally occurs between the end of February and the beginning of March.
The beautiful yellow flower ‘has decided to arrive earlier’ this year perhaps due to (one cannot say ‘thanks to’) climate change and the rise in temperatures in some places.
Spring normally does arrive earlier on the Ligurian Riviera compared to other areas but this year we have started seeing a blooming as early as the beginning of the year.
The Mimosa festival has become a pleasant event in Liguria to which thousands of visitors flock to see the colorful flower floats.
Wonka float
This year’s edition took place from the 3rd to the 11th of February in Pieve Ligure, a small village in the Genoese province.
The inauguration of the event was on Saturday the 3rd of February when the city officials opened the festival with a charity bingo to raise money for local events including the next edition of this festival.
Monday the 5th was dedicated to the little ones with a pizza workshop, mini-Olympic games and a concert for young people in the evening.
On the 8th they had a cooking competition with yellow as the theme color and on February the 9th they organized a yoga and pilates session with participants dressed in yellow.
The most awaited event was Sunday the 11th of February with a party atmosphere starting already in the morning with DJs, games for the children and then a distribution of mimosa branches for everyone attending.
The cable way used to carry the mimosa down the hill, made of little wagons hanging on a metal cable and which is normally not used anymore as it was originally used for carrying coal from the mines to the town, was operating for the event and full of colorful flowers.
Among group games and folk music, the parade of flower floats started in the early afternoon and carried for about 2 hours.
Wizardry float
Every day of the festival collateral events were organized as well, such as a local market with food stalls selling sweet or savory focaccia and themed handcrafts being sold by local artisans.
Entrance to the festival is always free but by shopping at the market or participating in the collateral events one can financially support the event.
Pieve Ligure is also a nice place to spend a nice day and have a hike or a picnic.
It is a great place for hiking lovers as there are several paths that start from Pieve Alta - on the top of mount Croce - and lead to the base of the cliff where the village is perched on.
The festival has been held since 1957 when a community leader from the village first proposed organizing a large distribution of mimosas in the town square, thus giving life to the first edition of the town festival. The idea was well received by the municipal institution and many visitors from Genoa and nearby villages flocked to the town square to receive the flower branch.
At times I know it is hard for local municipalities to keep these traditions going because of lack of funds and other bureaucratic issues but I do hope these kinds of events keep existing as they maintain alive these tiny villages, make people cheerful and amuse children.
Dinosaur float
