"Pietra Ligure in Fiore", the countdown begins for Europe's largest floral display [Video gallery]

42 delegations will be involved, coming from all over Italy and from many European countries: Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Lithuania will be the guests of honor of the large floral display which has become an international reference point, an exceptional showcase for the cultural and tourist image of the city and of the whole of Liguria and for one of its most peculiar traditions.

"We are very proud to be able to make such an important international presence in Pietra Ligure," explains Tourism and Culture Councilor Daniele Rembado, who continues: "Edition after edition, the show has grown in numbers and quality and has become a winning symbol for what our territory is able to offer in terms of beauty and peculiarity. We are aware of the role that Pietra Ligure will play in this extraordinary event: an enterprising country that is investing in tourism and economic development based on a welcome model that enhances the uniqueness of its products and the charm of its traditions. "

After the thousands of visitors and the critic success of the 2016 edition, the city is once again ready to become a real open-air museum, welcoming the art and creativity of over 800 master florists who, from the dawn of Saturday 11 May until the evening of the following day, will enliven the streets and squares with their extraordinary works of art, creating a real mix of cultures and expressive originality. The importance of "Pietra Ligure in Fiore" is also confirmed by the participation of cities that boast a long and prestigious tradition in the history of artistic decorations such as Genzano di Roma, Bolsena, Gerano, Fabriano and many others. And this year the exhibition will also be enriched by the extraordinary participation of the Spanish cities of Ponteareas and Castropol and of the Portuguese Vila do Conde, among the oldest and most prestigious floral decorations of the Iberian peninsula.

The exhibition in Pietra Ligure will represent an important moment of cultural exchange between many European countries and will also be an opportunity to discuss about the possibility of obtaining the prestigious recognition of the Intangible Humanity Heritage of Unesco of the ephemeral art. "It will be held in the two days of the kermesse a meeting between the delegations to develop common strategies aimed at achieving this special goal, which would also bring an exceptional return to Pietra Ligure in terms of tourist visibility", the municipal administration said.

Suggestive concerts, spectacular set-ups and intense cultural moments, will surround the event, which promises to be one of the most significant, attractive and important initiatives of Liguria for the year 2019.

"Pietra Ligure in Fiore" is organized by the Municipality of Pietra Ligure; the artistic and operative heart of the event is the Circolo Giovane Ranzi, whose tradition of the flower masters has its roots in the early 1800s with the famous "Stella di Ranzi", which every year on the occasion of the feast of Corpus Domini animates the small pietrese fraction.