Dutch Italo Cyclamen adorn the Vatican and Taize’s ‘Together’ event

Providing a colourful backdrop for the Vatican/Taizé’s ‘Together’ event on Saturday and Sunday, 30 September-1 October, were thousands of Cyclamen, bred by Dutch-based Schoneveld Breeding and grown by Rubens Bonato in Sabaudia, Italy.

Young people aged 18-35 gathered in Rome for a weekend of sharing and praying, culminating in the Ecumenical Vigil of Prayer for the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The first session of the Synod Assembly of Bishops happens this month in Rome between 4-29 October 2023, to be followed by a second in October 2024.

The stars of the floral decorations in St. Peter’s Square were more than 4,500 Super Serie Cyclamen, a bred from Schoneveld Breeding. The latter contacted grower Rubens Bonato to source the Super Serie Carino Cyclamen locally to lower carbon emissions.

Super Serie Carino provides colour when little else is flowering. Autumn flowering Carino is round and features a compact growth habit with a slightly open structure. Consumers can grow in a pot or container indoors or outdoors. Carino comes in a rainbow of 18 different colours.

Flowers and Vatican City are no strangers to one another. Dutch flowers have decorated the famous St Peter’s Square during the Easter Mass for many years.

Today, 2 October, the world celebrates  Grandparents’ Day, known as Festa dei Nonni in Italy. The Cyclamen used in St. Peter were gifted to Italian grandparents.

The Festa dei Nonni was adopted by the Italian government in 2005. Since then, an annual public holiday on 2 October aims to enhance communication between young and old, and the symbol of love is the giving of flowers or plants to the elderly by youngsters. From its beginning, the Grandparent’s Day Foundation – previously known as the Felini Foundation – has played a pivotal role in developing Grandparent’s Day.