Historic event returns to the streets of Trastevere from 13-31 July 2023.

Rome is steeped in religious traditions however few are as popular as the Festa de' Noantri which has attracted large crowds every summer for almost 500 years.

The festa, which dates to the early 16th century, is based between two historic churches in Rome's Trastevere quarter.

Central to the annual event, whose name Noantri (noi altri) translates from Roman dialect as “ours”, is the religious celebration of the Madonna of Mount Carmel.

The 2023 edition of the centuries-old festival takes place from 13-31 July, book-ended by two important processions.

On Saturday 22 July, a bejewelled and elaborately-dressed statue of the Virgin Mary will be carried through the crowded cobbled streets of Trastevere.

The colourful procession will begin at 18.00 from the church of S. Agata, filing towards the church of S. Crisogono, where the statue will stay for nine days before returning by boat in the "Fiumarola" procession down the river Tiber at around 19.00 on Sunday 30 July.

What are the origins of Festa de' Noantri?

The origins of this popular festival date to 1535 when a group of local fisherman discovered a wooden statue of the Madonna at the mouth of the river Tiber during a storm.

The statue was entrusted to the Carmelite friars at S. Crisgono in Piazza Sonnino, and became the patron saint of Trastevere.

It was originally housed in a chapel specially built by Cardinal Scipione Borghese but in 1890 this was demolished to make way for Viale del Re, now known as Viale Trastevere.

The statue was then moved to the church of S. Giovanni dei Genovesi, where it stayed for a few decades, before being moved to its present home at S. Agata church in Largo S. Giovanni de Matha, halfway along Via della Lungaretta.

According to tradition, the statue only leaves its home once a year: on the first Saturday after the feast day of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel on 16 July.

Details about the 2023 programme and procession routes can be found on the city website.