Rome evokes a miracle snowfall on 5 August. Rome celebrates La Madonna della Neve (Our Lady of the Snows) by recreating a miracle snowfall outside the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore during the height of summer. The 2025 edition of the spectacle, organised with the support of the capital and the Italian culture ministry, will take place in Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore at 21.00 on Tuesday 5 August. The snowfall and lightshow, traditionally accompanied with a performance by the Carabinieri band, will lead to traffic diversions in the area on Tuesday evening. The 10.00 Mass in honour of La Madonna della Neve, which includes a shower of white flower petals dropped from the ceiling - repeated at 17.30 during Vespers - will take place in the basilica on 5 August as per tradition. Pope Francis, who died in April and is buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, attended the Vespers ceremony last year. The late pontiff made more than 100 trips to the fifth-century papal basilica where he prayed before the icon of 'Maria Salus Populi Romani' before and after trips abroad. What does the snowfall represent? According to legend, a fourth-century Roman couple wished to donate their possessions to the church, and prayed for divine guidance. On the night of 4/5 August in the year 352 the Virgin Mary appeared to the couple in a vision, telling them that a miracle would reveal a site where they should build a new church. That same night — so the story goes — a miraculous fall of snow landed on a hill in the Esquiline district of Rome. Pope Liberius is said to have travelled to the snow-covered site, tracing an outline of the planned church whose construction was financed by the wealthy couple. Although there is no historical basis for the story, the event is still celebrated each year with the surreal spectacle of snow-like foam and suds falling from the sky. Cover photo La Repubblica