LUMINALIA : SERPENT OF FIRE | 2007
Festival: Rome Summer Solstice Festival Location: Tiber River between the Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini bridges, Rome, Italy Date: 22 June 2007 Media: 3000 Candles, floats, rope, fire, water Dimensions: one half kilometer long Kristin Jones and Daniel K. Brown, in association with TevereternoKristin Jones and Daniel Brown presented LUMINALIA as part of the “Flussi Correnti” program. A serpentine line of fire floated upon the Tiber’s surface, illuminating the length of the river basin with one thousand flames throughout the night and into the morning hours.
The half-kilometer long serpent of fire celebrated the Tiber River, which is known also as the ‘blond serpent’. The serpent symbolizes Aesculapius, Roman god of medicine, whose mythological island home Isola Tiberina lies in the centre of the river site. One thousand candles lined each bank, while the serpent was formed from another thousand candles floated in the centre of the Tiber, taking life from the currents and carrying light into the darkness to prolong the longest day of the year. Performed 22 June 2007.
