Florence marks Easter Sunday morning with a centuries-old tradition called the Scoppio del Carro, or the Explosion of the Cart, which attracts large crowds every year. The ritual is believed to date back to the First Crusade in 1099 when, according to legend, the Florentine Pazzino de' Pazzi was the first man to scale the walls of Jerusalem.

His bravery was rewarded by Crusade leader Godfrey of Bouillon with three pieces of stone from the Holy Sepulchre which were duly taken home to Florence. The stone relics were first housed in Palazzo Pazzi before being moved eventually to the church of SS Apostoli where they remain today.