Mara Verbena at the Christmas Concert in the Vatican
The florists of the Associazione Floricoltori e Fioristi Italiani have created furnishings, decorations and floral bouquets for the Auditorium della Conciliazione in Rome for the thirty-first edition of the Christmas Concert in the Vatican. The Christmas decorations and bouquets for artists were created by Mara Verbena from San Marino, as well as Federica Panicucci.
San Marino, 18 December 2023 - For the second consecutive year, the Associazione Floricoltori e Fioristi Italiani renews its participation and partnership with the Christmas Concert in the Vatican and Canale 5. Last Saturday (16 December), the stage of the Auditorium della Conciliazione in Rome presented itself to artists and the public in an even more beautiful and emotional version, thanks to the floral arrangements created by the AFFI team of flower designers.
The protagonists of their creations were only “Fiori Italiani”, the brand created by AFFI to promote and publicize the production of cooperatives and flower growers from every Italian region: buttercups, carnations, sterlitzias, anthuriums, orchids, holly, green leaves. The furnishings, the decorations of the Auditorium, as well as the welcome bouquets for all the artists and the presenter Federica Panicucci, were prepared by twelve masters of floral composition: Mara Verbena, Anna Maria Procaccini, Michela Torti, Elisa Belloni, Diego Lipari. Leonardo Zanotti, Paolo Maffei, Antonio Milano, Antonio Trentini, Antonio Russello, Federico Giglio, Alessandra Tartarini, Marco Alessandroni. They also created the centerpieces and decorations for the gala dinner following the concert, held in the Corsie Sistine of the Monumental Complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia.
“Music and flowers are two universal languages. They communicate feelings, emotions, friendship, love, beyond any difference in culture, origin, belief or ideology of every human being. Giving a flower is a gesture of welcome, hospitality, often of love – explain Cristiano Genovali and Mara Verbena, respectively president and vice president of Affi – We are deeply pleased and honored to have offered our small contribution to the humanitarian and social message of the concert. The audience with His Holiness, Pope Francis, in which we participated together with all the protagonists of the event, is a precious memory that we will always carry with us. A special thanks goes to those who donated the flowers for the event: the coop 3 Ponti from Liguria, Florencia Trade from Calabria, Cooperativa del Golfo and Flora Pompei from Campania and Flor Export from Tuscany”.
The Christmas Concert in the Vatican, recorded on Saturday, December 16, as per tradition, will be broadcast in prime time on Canale 5 on December 25 and again in the early afternoon of the 26th. This year, thanks to the funds raised during the concert and the gala dinner on Saturday and the subsequent donation campaign on the occasion of its broadcast on screens, the Don Bosco Missions project "Save the girls of Sierra Leone from violence". The initiative includes the construction of a shelter in the Don Bosco Fambul Center, dedicated to girls between the ages of 9 and 17.
The concert featured: Riccardo Cocciante, Al Bano Carrisi, Orietta Berti, Fabio Rovazzi, Alexia, the Guidonia Twins, Raiz, Joss Stone, Matteo Romano, Christopher Cross, Giusy Ferreri, Alex Britti, Marcella Bella, Valentina Parisse, Giulia Sol, Alin Stoica, Viktoria Modesta, the Virginia State Gospel Choir and the Piccolo Coro Le Dolci Note, accompanied by the Italian Cinema Orchestra, conducted by maestro Adriano Pennino.
Media Contact - Carlo Bozzo 3355778445
