A centuries-old celebration returns this month (although with a few changes in its programming due to anti-Covid measures) and it’s an unmissable one: the Festa de’ noantri.

Since time immemorial, Trastevere residents have taken pride in their relative distance from Rome’s old city. The area was initially known , but Trasteverini, as they are called, survived it all: now this part of town is one of the most sought after by tourists and locals alike, so there’s a sweet revenge in that.

Trasteverini were also extremely territorial about their neighborhood and their traditions too, and had an ongoing rivalry with Romans from other districts – particularly the Monticiani, living in the – you guessed it! – Monti area.

Said feud often resulted in violent clashes. One of them, the “Sassarolata” (named after the rocks thrown against the “enemies”) took place on Sundays in what is now the Roman Forum, complete with an audience standing by to count how many people would end up wounded (the Sassarolata included residents from other rioni too.). Anyway, we digress!

Proud as they may have felt, Trasteverini also had an inferiority complex about the rest of the city: all religious feasts took place on the other side, for one!

This changed in 1535, when a group of local fishermen discovered a cedar statue of the Virgin Mary floating on the river Tiber. It was more likely that the piece of wood was only loosely shaped like a statue, but religious devotion ended up giving the district a religious celebration of its own, complete with a miraculous appearance.

The Carmelite friars at the Basilica di San Crisogono (Piazza Sydney Sonnino, 44) were the first ones to care for the statue, which was then entrusted to the church of San Giovanni dei Genovesi (Via Anicia, 12) and from there, finally, to the church of Sant’Agata in Trastevere, on Largo San Giovanni de Matha.

The wooden Virgin Mary only leaves the church once a year, for what is called “Festa de’ noantri”. In romanesco, the local jargon, “noantri” means “the rest of us”, as opposed to the people who live across the river Tiber.

The statue that gets worshipped during the Festa de’ noantri is known as Madonna Fiumarola, meaning “coming from the river”. So it makes sense that part of the feast takes place right on the Tiber!

While the celebration lasts for two weeks, beginning on July 13 and continuing until July 26, the main events are its processions, with the Holy Mother being paraded around the neighborhood and, once again, by boat.

The parade through the streets of Trastevere will take place on Saturday, July 17, starting at 5.30PM, while the the re-enactment of the discovery of the statue will start on July 25 at the pier of the Circolo Canottieri Lazio (Lungotevere Flaminio, 25a) and it will reach Tiber Island and the Garibaldi bridge: the statue will leave the Circolo at around 6.30PM and it should reach the Garibaldi bridge roughly one hour later.

If you’re in the Trastevere area, you can get free tickets for the parade (1 per person) at the Sant’Agata church – this is the method that has been devised since last year to avoid any mass gatherings, respecting current Covid-19 restrictions.

Expect the statue to touch by all the churches where it was housed, and Via della Lungaretta as well as Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. Anyway, you will see picket lines and people assembling so you can’t go wrong!

As per the river procession, in previous years this has been easy enough – all you had to do was peer out from the bridges on the Trastevere side of the city. Again, look at what the locals are doing, and mirror that!