May is a glorious month: Nature is fully awake and everything is blooming. In the old days, in every culture, goddesses of flowers and fertility got special treats and people indulged in dancing and singing and gardening. In Tuscany, Calendimaggio was the triumph of love rhymes and countryside echoed verses by itinerant amateur poets door to door. Girls weaved garlands and dreams, boys planned merry times among wine and roses. As this sounded too pagan, San Filippo Neri, Florentine abroad, evened things out dedicating the same month to Our Lady. In Rome, he encouraged his disciples to frame the sacred images with flowers, while praising her with songs and lauds… It became a successful trend and for Catholic Church May is the Madonna month.