By Raanan Geberer

One of the most spectacular, unusual traditional Italian-American feasts in the United States is taking place from July 10 to 21 in Williamsburg.

The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Paulinus of Nola features the lifting of an 80-foot-tall, three-ton statue known as the Giglio, which means "lily" in Italian. The statue is topped by a representation of St. Paulinus, an early Christian martyr who was taken prisoner by the Turks; when he was finally released, St. Paulinus returned to Nola in a boat and the people all ran to shore to greet him with lilies.

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