THE MUSEUM OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE PORTERS OF SANTA ROSA

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION
Located in the medieval district of San Pellegrino, il Museo del Sodalizio dei facchini di S. Rosa, or in English the Museum of the Association of the porters of Santa Rosa, is located in a space donated by the City Hall (Comune of Viterbo) in 1978.  In the museum, it is possible to trace the history of the grandest tradition of the City of Viterbo: the transportation of la Macchina di Santa Rosa. This is a structure similar to a steeple, 28 meters tall and weighing about 5 tons. Every 3rd of September at 9pm more than one hundred men carry la Macchina di Santa Rosa on their shoulders in honor of Saint Rosa of Viterbo.  The museum has three levels. On the first level, There is  a reproduction of the first wooden litter, finished in 1690, the design of which is still retained. There are also 9 scale models of the macchina carried from 1924  to today and copies of the designs of the macchine carried during the 19th Century, the originals of which are preserved in the Civic Museum of Viterbo.  On the second level there is a room for screening the film about the transport of the macchina di S. Rosa, which makes clear just how spectacular this festival is. In the same room are photos of the procession and the ciuffi and cuscinetti are preserved. The Ciuffi are the typical pads that protect the necks of the facchini (porters) who are directly under the Macchina during the ceremony and the cuscinetti are the pads meant to protect the shoulders of the porters who are to the sides of the Macchina. The third floor houses the executive council, a photographic archive and a small library.

SODALIZIO DEI FACCHINI DI SANTA ROSA
Translation by di Clare Kuntz, Goucher College, enrolled in the USAC Viterbo program.