Evolution is an interesting thing. Festivals, for example, evolve with time. They take a core idea and modify it through the years using whatever technology is available to make a point in the most dramatic way.

Take the Scoppio del carro for instance, a Florentine festival held on Easter morning. You see, Pazzino di Ranieri de' Pazzi declared Jerusalem a Christian city during the First Crusades by rasing a banner on the defensive walls. For this, Godfrey IV de Bouillon gifted him with three chips of stone from the Holy Sepulchre of Christ which he took to Florence in 1101 and used to light the "new fire"--Christ risen at Easter.

The fire was distributed to the citizens, first on foot, then on a cart. Eventually, the cart became the launching pad for some spectacular pyrotechnics:

During the early 1500s, the "colombina," a dove-shaped rocket holding an olive branch in its beak, was introduced; it is ignited by the holy fire, setting off the entire cart in a series of explosions.

Today you can see the festivities of the Scoppio del Carro in front of the Baptistry of St. John near the Duomo in Florence. There's will be flag throwing, holy water sprinkiling and...

...a sizzling cart that explodes with fireworks, the latest incarnation of this Easter celebration.

See: Italy Magazine: Scoppio del carro in Florence for a detailed look at the festival and some video of it. See Easter in Italy for more Easter events.