Video Blog: Tuscan Festivals

There are many big medieval festivals scattered around Tuscany. All have roots back many hundreds of years, but most of the modern reincarnations date from earlier this century under the auspices of Mussolini. The most famous palio is the one that takes place in Siena (twice a year) where the central square is transformed into a racecourse for a furious horse race with jockeys riding bareback on a horse representing the various contradas (quarters) of the city. There is much rivalry and sometimes a bit of violence too!

Other enjoyable celebrations include a rather boisterous antique version of soccer in Florence. From what I can see, the ball is almost irrelevent and it is just an excuse for a big punch-up. Sansepolcro hosts a big crossbow shooting competition, with the local team pitted against visitors from Gubbio (which then returns the compliment). As I have already mentioned, Anghiari stages a gruelling road race up its steep hill, while Caprese Michelangelo contents itself with a more sedate chestnut festival in October.

For me the most entertaining festival is that of the Giostra del Saracino in Arezzo. This is a jousting competition held in the main square where riders with lances score points on a small target fixed to a spinning mannequin, complete with ball and chain! Again the various quarters of the city compete for the prize of the golden lance. Much skill is needed, and the horses are fantastic.

Anghiari Palio

Anghiari is extraordinarily picturesque, but is only really famous due to the battle that took place in the plain below on 29 June 1440. This battle saw the Milanese take on the forces of Venice and Florence (under the Papal banner). Despite a huge amount of pomp and chest-puffing, the battle itself was a bit of a damp squib with no proper engagement, and only one man died (accidentally falling off his horse!). Leonardo da Vinci painted a large fresco depicting the battle in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence but this has now been lost and only a few cartoons exist which show a little of what the finished masterpiece would have been like.

Today the battle is cause for celebration and is marked with a foot race from the battle site in the valley up the incredibly steep hill to the town square - pretty tough going especially in the summer heat. It is also an excuse for pageantry and revelry with townsfolk dressing up in medieval costume, and entertained by the trumpets and drums of re-enactment groups from all over Tuscany, including the traditional football players from Florence, the band from Arezzo and the flag-throwers of Sansepolcro. And then a huge feast to finish of precedings at Castello di Sorci, a great restaurant in what used to be a stronghold of local condottiero (mercenary) Baldaccio. Definitely a great day out!

Video Blog: Goats!

It's lambing ('kidding'?) time up at Valle di Mezzo, a farm run by my friend Brent Zimmerman. I paid a visit on Sunday afternoon to look at the new arrivals. Doubly interesting of course as Caprese is derived from the Italian 'capra' meaning 'goat' and there is a goat on the village coat of arms.

Video Blog: Arezzo: Fiera Antiquaria

The Fiera Antiquaria is a large antiques fair which takes place every month in the city of Arezzo, near Caprese Michelangelo. You can buy all sorts of things, from antiques to bric-a-brac and modern arts and crafts. People come from all over Italy to see it. This was recorded on Saturday 6th February, which accounts for the rain!

Anghiari

About 6 miles down the mountain from Caprese lies the defensive hilltop town of Anghiari. Right on the border of Tuscany, and hence on the edge of Medici control, the town has always been of strategic importance and on 29 June 1440, a famous battle took place here between the Florentines and Milanese. Although a famous event, immortalised in a now lost Leonardo fresco (once in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence), only 1 person was actually killed (in an accidental fall off his horse!). The event is marked today by a foot race up the hill from the battlefield to the main square of Anghiari - a great excuse for a festa and fancy dress! Today the sleepy town stands sentinel overlooking the flat plain of the Tiber valley with it's patchwork fields of sunflowers and tobacco plants.

Weather Report update

Well, it didn't snow heavily but a beautiful phenomenon here are the ice forests at the top of the mountains after a night of freezing fog. All the trees become encrusted with ice turning everything into a crystal wonderland. A wonderful place to witness this spectacle near Caprese is the hermitage of La Verna where St. Francis of Assisi took refuge and where he recieved his stigmata. The small monastery sits aloft a strangely shaped mountain (Michelangelo painted it in several of his works including the landscape behind Adam and God scene of the Sistine Chapel ceiling) which forms part of the Casentino National Park. Here are a couple of views taken this morning.

Caprese Pics

Some pictures of things referred to in my last post ...

A view of Caprese Michelangelo

The church of San Giovanni Battista where Michelangelo was baptised.

The sign to that effect

Caprese Castle: Michelangelo's birthplace

Welcome to Caprese Michelangelo

Caprese is a small village in the east of Tuscany in the province of Arezzo which I stumbled across a few years ago, while viewing properties in Umbria. I fell instantly in love with the small community as well as the property I was taken to see there, which now almost four years later is my home. There are about 1,700 'capresani' who are spread out through the wide collection of hamlets which make up the village. Perhaps her greatest son was, however, Michelangelo Buonarotti (yes, the Michelangelo) who was born here on 6 March 1475 and baptised in the tiny church of San Giovanni Battista. It was many years later that the comune officially adopted his first name as the village's surname which is now proudly called Caprese Michelangelo.

I decided to start this blog to record my experiences here in Tuscany as well as to share them with my friends, family and other interested parties. So, welcome or Benvenuti a Caprese Michelangelo!