The sawdust carpets of Camaiore are made on the Saturday night preceding the Corpus Christi Day by groups of craftsmen, for the solemn procession which takes placeon Sunday at 9:00 am and are one of the main attractions of the city as well as an event of great artistic value, history and culture.
The preparation begins many months before with the choice of a subject, inspired by religious or social themes and geometric or floral decorations, the choice of the colors, that the craftsmen are able to obtain from a mixture of sawdust and aniline, and the creation of models for the patterns made with sawdust, that can reach up to 200 meters in length.
The Solemnity of Corpus Christi was celebrated in Camaiore in the Middle Ages but the tradition of the carpets begins to assert itself in the ‘800: it seems that this custom began with the servants of the Spanish Bourbon Family, who used to make flower carpets to welcome the members of the family. Gradually the use of flowers was replaced by the sawdust.
The "tappetari" (the craftsmen) of Camaiore, are proud of their work that they consider in between craft and art. During the night they work for the realization of carpets untill dawn on Sunday, when the carpets are ready to be admired, but just for a few hours before the Holy Procession walks on them.
From 19:00 on Saturday to 10:00 Sunday venogno made the teappeti.
Sunday morning we celebrate the Holy Mass at 8.30 am in Piazza Diaz in Camaiore, followed the procession over carpets.
CORPUS DOMINI – Sawdust carpets
Camaiore, old town
2017 June 17 / 18
hours: from 7:00 p.m of June 17 . to 11:00 a.m. of June 18
free admission