As I walked up the hill on Sunday morning for the main event of the Sagra del Tordo I came across the procession heading towards Piazza Popolo to greet the Lady of the Fortress.
the start of the parade
It seems the whole town was on the move.
the dancers were back
there were children bearing gifts
a handsome couple
boys in red
drummers
and horns
an important looking gentleman
people carrying picks and a banner
All these people were heading towards the Lady of the Fortress and her entourage.
the Lady of the Fortress
the town crier arrived on his horse and the Lordship arrived to excort his Lady
the Lady and Lordship
Then everybody moved off towards the church for the archers to be blessed.
those crossbows look dangerous
the gifts go too
more fierce weapons
at the church
all done
Then everybody was off the the fortress for the next part of the ceremony.
up the hill to the fortress
Like the day before, the sun was shining and it as a beautiful day. Huge crowds gathered in the grounds of the fortress,and the next stage of the event was played out.
the town crier made his announcements
to the crowds and the court below
the horns played from above
and the other horns
the hunting dogs were there
and hunters with their nets
while the members of the court looked on
it proved to be a bit tiring for some
Once the speeches were made and essential things said and done, the court moved off.
The Lord and Lady move off and the rest follow.
Lunch was next. Just outside the fortress grounds the food stands were set up. Each quartiere offered its own specialities.
Everything looked delicious, including these roasting chickens.
Of course we had lunch in the Pianello area.
We ate delicious gnocchi, polenta with cingiale, porchetta and the most delicious sausages. It was worth coming for the food alone. Then it was time for a rest before the main archery competition. We elected to miss the procession to the sports ground in order to get a good seat in the stand.
Eventually the parade filed in and the competition got underway.
The court takes its place.
Supporters stand by.
The band begins to play.
All eyes are on the archers and the competition begins.
Arrows are retrieved, the shots discussed at length and it starts again.
Finally the last arrows are sent towards the targets.
And Pianello has won the competition. This has only happened a couple of times in the last 20 years, so the supporters are very pleased. The victorious captain receives the silver arrow in the name of his quartiere.
The crowd goes wild and the players hug each other and people swarm onto the field.
Then everyone heads back into the Piazza Popolo for more celebrations.
The happy archers go off to get ready for the evening celebrations.
Celebrations go long into the night. The winning team earns the right to sing hymns of victory and to ridicule the losers. This can go on for the entire year, until the next competition.
Overnight all the flags from the losing areas will be removed and only the flags of the winning quartiere are allowed to remain on display.
We felt very privileged to be part of the Sagra del Tordo. It was fun to be on the side of the winning team, even though we had nothing to do with the win. I’ll have to go back next year to cheer for Pianello.
What we loved most of all about this festival was that the whole town was involved. Babies were dressed in quartiere colours, toddlers were dancing and playing drums, young children were involved happily in the event and everyone just had a great time. Nobody was unruly or bad spirited. There should be more of this.
Amazing! What a superb spectacle.
By: From a Tuscan Villa on November 3, 2011
at 5:01 pm
It was spectacular. I wish we had something like that here in BdL.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 5:06 pm
How great to see the white oxen… Memories of Italy of over forty years ago!! Thank you for the many beautiful photographs, because of them I feel as though I also attended the event.
By: Gian Banchero on November 3, 2011
at 5:23 pm
The whole weekend was amazing. This is the best festival I have attended in Italy.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 9:01 pm
One word: Wow.
By: Charlotte on November 3, 2011
at 5:34 pm
Those costumes were incredible in their detail. The fabrics were beautiful and they were worn with pride.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 9:02 pm
Love Montalcino, Love this post, Love all the goings on in Italy! How wonderful. All those costumes too…..lovely to see how they all make an effort and so different to what we see in Australia. I loved this post Deb!
Brava!!!!!
By: Moira Drexler on November 3, 2011
at 5:41 pm
Perhaps you could come next year.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 9:02 pm
I agree with you, we should have something similar in Bagni di Lucca and I am sure that there would be similar events, which took place in the past and are now forgotten, which could be brought back to life. I will start investigating, but I already know of a big banquet which was offered to the people of Bagni (Corsena, then) by French philosopher Michel de Montaigne to thank the inhabitants for taking good care of him while he was taking a cure there. This was back in the 16th Century…..
We have the “balestrieri”, something nice could be organised.
By: Mulino Dominillo on November 3, 2011
at 6:20 pm
I like the sound of the banquet.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 9:03 pm
What a spectacular show! I am very impressed with the costumes, so beautifully made and in authentic detail, and the way the participants carried themselves all the way through – it was almost out of a picture book I read about the “Pied Piper” as a child. Even though the piper story was German, the costumes in the book looked very similar to the Italian clothes. I expected the Town Crier to yell from the top of his lungs; so, seeing him with a microphone didn’t seem to fit the Medieval scene. You were fortunate to capture so many beautiful pictures right throughout the whole show; also love the way you took us with you on your journey from start to end. A very pleasurable blog! I like Mulino’s idea of doing a banquet for Bagni di Lucca. Count me in for that one!
By: Sandra H on November 3, 2011
at 6:55 pm
We will all line up for the banquet.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 9:04 pm
Amazing photos, Deb. What fun!
Kathy
By: Kathryn McCullough on November 3, 2011
at 8:27 pm
It was a great weekend.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 9:04 pm
What an event!
By: Richard Tulloch on November 3, 2011
at 9:01 pm
Thank you.
By: bagnidilucca on November 3, 2011
at 9:03 pm
This is the sort of thing you just don’t get in Australia – how wonderful!
By: Journey Photographic on November 3, 2011
at 9:16 pm
The whole spectacle was wonderful. The costumes were beautiful and worn with pride.
By: bagnidilucca on November 4, 2011
at 6:41 am
What a huge event! It is so elaborate, I bet people really look forward to this! 🙂
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on November 4, 2011
at 3:50 am
The whole town was packed for the weekend. It was mostly Italians, I didn’t see too many foreigners. I guess you would have to be lucky to be around at the right time.
By: bagnidilucca on November 4, 2011
at 6:42 am
We saw the archers but missed the parade, aren’t the costumes beautiful and well looked after. What wonderful red and beige tights, maybe Mary D should get a pair.
You obtained shots worthy of publishing further.
By: Roz on November 4, 2011
at 4:53 am
I took enough photos to fill a large book. I had trouble deciding which ones to use. There was so much to see.
By: bagnidilucca on November 4, 2011
at 6:43 am
How did you get to be a part of the “pianello”? Did you know people in the Montecino?
By: davidmcguffin on November 4, 2011
at 3:47 pm
My Australian friends have a house in Pianello and are members of the quartiere. I did mention it in the first post on Montalcino.
By: bagnidilucca on November 4, 2011
at 5:16 pm
[…] here for more on Montalcino and here annd here for the wonderful archery competition held as part of the Festival of the Thrush. […]
By: Montalcino – a pretty hilltop town « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on December 25, 2011
at 1:11 pm
[…] and the spectacle of this were wonderful. It was great to see the whole town involved. Click here to see the costumes and the archery competition. Of course there was much more. Take a look in the […]
By: Looking back over 2011 « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on December 30, 2011
at 5:23 am
[…] loved these red shoes at the Sagra del Tordo in […]
By: Colour my world | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on October 23, 2013
at 1:42 pm
[…] Montalcino is a famous wine town. Like many Tuscan towns it sits prettily on a hill with stunning views over the surrounding countryside. A couple of years ago I went for the weekend to be part of the Sagra del Tordo, and incredible festival where the whole town is involved in an archery competition. Everybody dresses up in wonderful costumes, feasts on delicious food and watches the exciting competition. […]
By: Places to go | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on January 20, 2014
at 9:53 pm