St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year for religious holidays like Easter and Christmas. For the past several years, select florists from Slovenia have collaborated to decorate the church for Easter. The lead florist is an avid user of OASIS® Floral Products and frequently collaborates with Smithers-Oasis Adria to bring her ambitious ideas to life.
Leading up to Easter 2019, the largest phalaenopsis orchid growers in Slovenia donated 160 orchids to St. Peter’s Basilica. The florists were then tasked with incorporating these orchids into their other designs. Their idea was to have an OASIS® Floral Foam Raquette with multiple openings for orchid vases with plenty of additional foam for more floral designs. To achieve this, they looked to Smithers-Oasis Adria for help in making a spectacular display.
The lead florist shared her requirements: the raquettes needed to be waterproofed, have correctly sized holes for the orchids, and contain enough floral foam to add additional flowers to the orchids. The Smithers-Oasis Adria Team met her demands and created 36 custom OASIS® Floral Foam Raquettes made to house the orchids. Ultimately, hundreds of flowers adorned the Papal Altar and surrounding areas where the Pope and other Catholic officials gathered to lead the Easter Sunday services.
The floral designers of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Smithers-Oasis Adria team continue to collaborate on a regular basis, providing the floral artists the tools they need to bring their masterpieces to life.
