I Pugnaloni

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May 20th 2007

Published: August 6th 2007

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Chrisby

Pugnaloni

My favourite.

At last the day had arrived. Mom and Lynn were very keen for me to come during this time because of a local festival called I Pugnaloni. They had been talking about it for years and I was always intrigued, but figured that if I never saw it, my life would not noticeably change. Once again, I was proven wrong. This ended up being the highlight day of the trip and something I will simply never forget.

Acquapendente is one town over from Proceno. Every year, they hold the Festa della Madonna del Fiore - or the Festival of the Madonna of the Flowers. It is held to honour the time the Madonna presented herself as a flowering tree to some peasants (as she does) and told them to rise up against their evil lord. They did and they won, so every year since 1166 they honour the occasion.

In the town, there are ten or so clubs made up entirely of children. Over the course of several months, they build their Pugnaloni. These are mosaics made up entirely of flowers and leaves. They are amazingly detailed, really creative and quite beautiful. We spent the morning walking around the

Pugnaloni

This is one of them -- one of my favourites.

town and looking at all of them. One was more impressive than the next. Until one gets right up to them, it is impossible to imagine how these come to be. The amount of work that goes into them is astonishing and the detail is not to be believed. In addition to the Pugnaloni, we got to see the town itself which is gorgeous in its own right - courtyards filled with flowers.

At lunchtime, we decided to escape the crowds for a while and came back to the flat for Mom’s idea of a light lunch.

After lunch, we headed back to the festival. In the middle of the afternoon, there is a procession through the town that recreates a medieval procession. The costumes are authentic and made of materials that made me swoon. Flags are flying and drums are going. I’m here to tell you that until you have heard dozens of drums echoing off ancient Italian walls, you’ve missed something. I had chills up and down my spine.

Watching the procession, I realised that in my past life during the Middle Ages, I was NOT one of those noble people. I was much more

Pugnaloni

Another one.

comfortable watching from the sidelines and gazing. As I said to Mom, I reckon I was a serving wench - slopping out the pigs and generally keeping the place going.

There was then a performance in the square of more drums, more flags and general Italian merriment. This was all fine and good for a while, but after two hours, we ready for the next event. It was worth the wait.

Eventually, the clubs carry their Pugnaloni into the square. It starts with the very youngest kids who do little ones and is followed up by the larger ones. To see all of them together and to see the square absolutely heaving with the townspeople is a sight that I will not soon forget. Finally, they process the Madonna herself through the streets. I felt as though I was an extra in a Godfather film. The music was the same and the general sentiment was the same.

We stayed around to watch the judging, but something went askew, so we gave up and came back to Proceno. We had pizza and wine in the flat with Tina and Wayne, which was about all we could manage after