Advertisement
Published: January 17th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Walking into the centre
Lots of lights and people streaming into the piazza. I mentioned in my last post that we might head to a local festival that involved burning a bonfire. And so we did. Last night we headed with Vincenzo and Sara in tow to Novoli for the feast of St Anthony. I’m not sure which St. Anthony it might be, but this one might have been canonized for pyrotechnics. The bonfire is reputed to be the tallest in Italy (20 mt / 60feet) and so we thought this would be fun to watch.
Jeff (inPuglia.blogspot.com) told me that a crowd of 50,000 was expected to gather for this festival. Jeff would have gone with us as well except that he had a hot date with an Italian girl. (I am expecting that I will receive a full account of the evening.) So anyway, we left around 7:15PM anticipating that parking might be a problem. We didn’t count on not being able to find our way, or more specifically the road we were looking for. Word to the wise, Google map is not perfect and neither is the most current Michelin road map. That is all I will say or I will go off on a rant.
We finally did get to
Fireworks
No self respecting festival goes without fireworks in Italy! Novoli around 8:15PM and it should have taken us about 25 minutes max. We found the last little bit of Fiat Punto-sized space on a side street to park in. We walked into the centre and proceeded to the piazza where the fireworks would be shot off and the bonfire lit.
First of all, the anticipated crowd was there. It was quite a horde of people to make our way through to the area. I have to apologize for the quality of the photos. I haven’t mastered nighttime photography. The fireworks were incredible, particularly because we were so close. The finale was dazzling and spectacular and of course had the crowd oohing and ahhing.
We then proceeded to wend our way through the crowd to try and get close to the bonfire. There was also a stage with politicians speechifying and a roving camera that periodically swept over the audience. Then the fire was ignited. At this point, I have to explain some preconceptions I had about this festival. I was looking forward to two things: 1. A rip roaring conflagration with giganticus flames and intense light. 2. The Italians busting loose in a kind of full-blown joyful, paganistic catharsis
Finish Big
No self respecting fireworks show has a wimpy end. of fun. Ummm…ok, neither happened.
As you can see in the photos, the bonfire flame is pretty unimpressive and that is because they lit the top interior first. So there wasn’t this huge raging fire I wanted to see. One of the politicians spoke about what the fire symbolized. He said that the fire was the light of hope, reason, tradition, etc. etc. and how the fire would burn carefully instead of wildly and not even rain could extinguish it. Well, he was very accurate. And I was thinking, "Hey, I didn't come for that nonsense! I was more in the mood for...Toga, Toga, Toga!!!"
Here are some cultural observations that may explain why it didn’t happen. First, I think that Italians are very concerned about appearance. They strive to maintain what they refer to as “la bella figura.” Subsequently, they appear in public fashionably dressed and behave in a very restrained and calculated manner (think: Posing). So no one behaves in a manner that they think will draw undue or critical attention towards them. For example, being drunk in public is bad form. I’ve yet to see a drunk Italian. I figure that if they are buzzed, they maintain
Closer is Better
The boomers thumped right through my body. a tight outward appearance - jeez, talk about being killjoys. On the other hand, it is nice to go to a large gathering and not have to put up with drunken louts. But the concern for appearance has led to the importance of “seeing and being seen” as the primary reason for socializing. It just looks like they don’t know how to have fun. I mean, good grief I haven't seen an Italian laughing a hearty, guffawing, "I'm gonna pee my pants that's so damn funny" kind of laughter. Jeez.
So. There we are the “fire” is going, large quantities of wine and beer are being sold and consumed, the foodstands are doing brisk business, there is a large crowd, the mood is festive, the music just makes one want to cut a jig. But, nope, not a single Italian is compelled to “bust a move!”
Advertisement
Tot: 0.12s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0865s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jeff
non-member comment
Where were you?
Wow from your photos I would say you were right behind me at the fireworks. I had a great time there too but we didn't stay very late. I think there is a concert at the Big Ben tonight but I'll have to check after work. Jeff