September 12-14th was the weekend of the Palio
della Balestra! The Balestra is a big deal here in Sansepolcro and consists of
a crossbow competition between towns dating all the way back to the 1500’s.
Annually, Sansepolcro and a nearby town, Gubbio, compete to see which town can
hit the exact center of the target. All the members from each team shoot at the
same target which makes it even more difficult to hit right in the center with
all the other arrows in the way. Today, individuals still dress up in
renaissance attire for the competition. Saturday, we got to dress up and helped
out at the Mercado di Sant'Egidio. I was dressed as a merchant and sat at a
table with spices and my job was to say hello to people who passed. The spices
displayed were not for sale because this market was just for looks and
remembrance of how it looked back in the day.
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| Kiosha and me at the spice table for the market |
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| I was able to shoot a bow and arrow! |
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| One of the archers shooting during the Balestra |
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| This is what the target looked like at the end. |
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| Flag throwers during the Balestra. They travel all over the world! |
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| Sansepolcro won the Palio della Balestra! |
Ciao!
Meg
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