Lake Garda » Information » Notte di San Lorenzo

The Notte di San Lorenzo is the night of the shooting stars and coincides with the death of the martyr Laurentius. The villages around Lake Garda like Bardolino and Peschiera del Garda celebrate the shooting stars with a festival.

On 12th August the earth traverses the meteorite belt Perseids. This causes the Perseids meteor shower. Small meteorites burn out in the atmosphere of the earth. Those small meteorites are what we call shooting stars and can be seen with unaided eye. The best time so see the shooting stars is 2 am to 4 am.

The shooting stars are also called tears of Laurentius, because they coincide with the festival of the martyr Laurentius on 10th August. Laurentius was a young priest who lived in Rome and looked after the old and poor people. He was arrested on 10th August 258 AD, because he gave the money of the church to the poor. He was tortured to dead on a fire grate. The myth said, that ever since it rains fiery tears from the sky.

So the Notte di San Lorenzo is a day to celebrate the martyr Laurentius and the shooting stars. Come to one of the numerous towns at Lake Garda, close your eyes and make a wish.

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