402nd Festival of Santa Rosalia — Triumphal Float

The highlight of the patron saint celebrations: the traditional Triumphal Float of Saint Rosalia winds its way through the Cassaro, from the Royal Palace to the Foro Italico. The 2026 edition, the 402nd, has as its theme “From drama comes ritual; from ritual comes community” and serves as a prelude to the 2027 Norman Millennium celebrations: Saint Rosalia is depicted as a Norman virgin on a bio-float approximately 10 meters long, designed as a Mediterranean botanical garden featuring over 150 plant species (laurel, holm oak, myrtle, rosemary, bitter orange, dwarf palm, white roses, and lilies) selected in collaboration with the Palermo Botanical Garden, and surrounded by over 300 luminous butterflies. The event begins at 9:20 p.m. at the Royal Palace with a video mapping projection on the facade narrated by Dario Aita; at 7:00 p.m., the procession carrying the urn with the saint’s relics passes through Via Bonello, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and the Quattro Canti. Among the new features for 2026 is a drone show accompanying the traditional “masculiata,” the reenactment of the 1624 plague and the Saint’s triumph. The Festino concludes at the Foro Italico with approximately 45 minutes of fireworks over the sea, presented by La Rosa International Fireworks.