Drums, Flags & Sausage: Festa in Montone!

It’s August, so it must be Ferragosto, and if it’s Ferragosto, then it must be festa time in Montone! We are in the midst of our annual, week long medieval festival, the Donazione della Santa Spina.

August 15 is the official Ferragosto holiday in Italy, but one can go ‘on ferie’ (fair-ee-a) or vacation, anytime during the summer. We can all thank Emperor Augustus who, back in 18 B.C., thought it was a great idea to take a little break from work during the dog days of summer.

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Donazione della Santa Spina 2012

Congratulations to Borgo del Monte on winning this year’s Palio! Maybe we didn’t win…but we sure had a good time!

Being a part of the community of our del Verziere rione is a precious honor. Being the Castellana of our rione will be a memory I cherish forever.

OK, and now it’s time to start planning for next year! Viva del Verziere!!

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And the winner is…

Congratulations to del Borgo for winning the 2011 Palio!

We lost by one single point, but the jury gave us high points for our ‘nearly cineographic’ performances.

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Montone: In the service of Dionysus

By most accounts, our del Verziere spettacolo was a grand success. It came off as a powerful, dramatic piece, and that was the intent. Five all-out rape scenes in a very challenging (as in STEEP) setting also took its toll on us. Skinned knees and elbows, bruises, banged shins, jammed fingers, and scraped toes, all in the service of Dionysus, the Greco-Roman god of wine, theater and ecstasy.

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Montone Marathon: Day 2 of Donazione della Santa Spina

Tues morning, Aug 16
Town is a beehive of activity. Those little 3 wheeled Api’s are buzzing around town hauling sets and props, garbage, chairs and what ever else needs to be transported through our tiny medieval streets. Anything larger and Jeff is hauling it around in our trusty-rusty pick-up truck.
Clusters of people with clipboards gather, confer, and separate like so many drops of mercury, endless reorganizing according to the task at hand.

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Montone in Festa!

It’s that time again! Donazione della Spina in Montone!
A full week in August where the town of Montone remembers Braccio Fortebraccio, our illustrious mercenary ancestor who survived many a battle against the Pope. His equally illustrious son, Carlo, as a reward for his heroic efforts, was given a precious thorn from the crown of Christ. As he rode into town with his prize, bells miraculously rang without someone yanking their chain, flowers sprang into blossom, horses genuflected as he passed and …. there was unbridled partying for seven days.

We are on the eve of unbridled partying.

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Countdown to the Palio

This post is for everyone who follows Montone news.
It’s been a helluva festa week in Montone! It’s our annual Donazione della Santa Spina or the Celebration of the Gift of the Holy Thorn.

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