La Balestra - Sansepolcro

Le Feste del Palio della Balestra - a step back into the past....

It is a traditional event that takes place annually every second Sunday in September in the Piazza Torre di Berta in Sansepolcro, between the neighbouring towns of Sansepolcro and Gubbio. The participants of all ages dress up in sumptuous medieval costumes; the dresses are made in heavy, richly coloured velvets, embroidered with various coloured braids. There are processions and parades through the streets, banquets with dishes of the period, banner games and the biturgense flag wavers, who are a definite ‘must see’, their art has made them famous all over the world.   

The procession begins with drum rolls and trumpets blasting in accord, as medieval uniformed men lead the flag throwers into the arena where the brilliantly coloured and richly embossed symbolic fabrics are thrown high into the air and caught again by their long poles.   

Trumpets hail the arrival of the civic dignitaries from both towns who take up their seats in prime positions. We are now looking through a portal into another dimension, one side of the arena is medieval, beautiful young women in tall pointed hats of rich velvet and ribbons that drift across the breeze, dresses in silks and satins of all colours, young men aristocratically clad, with bloomers, silk-stockings, buckles on their shoes and chains of office and rank around their necks, all capturing the mood perfectly. The bowmen, dressed as if marching into battle, occupy their left, at an angle of ninety degrees, in the other corner of the square, 21^st century digital cameras, their flashlights competing to frame an image of this magnificent spectacle, whilst the media are positioned expediently to capture the event for a much wider audience.   

The main event is the crossbow shooting competition, which is taken very seriously. Tension fills the air as each side fires their handmade, decoratively carved crossbow in the order previously ‘plucked from a hat’ by the officials. The target or 'corniolo' is a black circular wooden disc on which sits a coned disc with a diameter of three inches, white in colour, to stand out from the dark background. From their positions some thirty six metres away, their crossbows finely balanced and seated on wooden rostrums, the bowman release their individualised bolts (a shorter form of an arrow) or 'verrette' and there is a crack as each string is freed from its tension; the air resonates with the sound of these beautifully made missiles travelling in the space between bowman and target, all eyes try to follow, heads turn in unison and the action culminates with another crack and a roar of appreciation from the crowd. The accuracy of each shot is to be marveled at; the target fills up slowly, soon it will resemble the feathered headdress of an American Indian. Some attempts fail and shattered and frayed wood and feathers fall to the ground, the days and months that went into their making, a distant memory in the thoughts of the artisans that lovingly balanced and formed them, they are unique to them and so easily identified if fortune should favour them.

The target is eventually removed from its position in front of the Banca Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena, and taken away; officials from both camps, select from behind closed doors the winning bolt, the one that survived the onslaught from seventy or more of its competitors, vying for the same tiny spot but remaining firmly lodged in it’s heart. The air fills with tension as the winners name is finally revealed and this victory goes to Sansepolcro. The piazza is filled with cheers from the crowd and chants of jubilation ring out through the ancient narrow streets. It will be another eight months before the friendly rivalry is challenged, this time in Gubbio....  

If you would like to learn more about the way of life,  the local people and the wonderful towns and festivals held in Northern Tuscany then follow me on my journey in 'A Chestnut Barn in Tuscany' and 'Back to Tuscany and the Barn', both of which are available in digital format and paperback through Amazon.

Enjoy..Ciao Catherine x

(Photos courtesy of Steve Munday)