La Quintana and La Festa

La Quintana finito

Just a warning that this blog will be a long one as there was a lot going on in Ascoli Piceno during the last few days of La Quintana.

The final week of La Quintana is also the week of La Festa di Sant’ Emidio, the patron saint our adopted hometown. The past week-end was full of processions for both events, of coursee patron saint of numerous special masses for La Festa, another giostre for La Quintana, a bridge painting competition amongst the sestiere, nightly concerts in the cattedrale and piazze, a Tombola di Sant Emidio (lottery drawing for cash prizes) and each night ended with lots of fireworks.

Saturday evening there was the Offerta dei Ceri which is a procession of costumed participants through the centro storico to the cattedrale where the surrounding castelli and local sestiere present candles to the church symbolic of the candles used to light the interior in years past. The procession filled half of Piazza Arringo once they all arrived amongst pounding drums and trumpets.

This was immediately followed by the Sorteggio Giostra de Sant Emidio which is a blessing of the participants in the final giostra. Each sestiere presented their horse and rider for the blessing as the entire procession bowed forward in prayer.

That night there was a concert in Piazza del Popolo that concluded just before midnight to give people time to walk to the banks of Torrente Castellano to witness the pirotecnico display that echoed in the valley and against the stone buildings. We have noticed that the fireworks displays here in Italy are preceded by one or two loud bangs to inform everyone they are ready to begin. Then at the end of the show, instead of a finale, there are several loud bangs to signal the end of the show.

Sunday was the big culmination of La Quintana and La Festa di Sant’ Emidio with bands playing in the streets and the Processione dei figuranti della Giostra della Quintana e Corteo that included 1500 costumed participants, plus animals, parading through the historic center. This was larger than the processione that we witnessed in July and included falcons and dogs in addition to the horses participating in the competition. There were knights in armor, ladies and gentlemen of the court, sbandieratori, musicians, shepherds, falconers, arcieri, town officials, banner carriers and of course the cavalieri. This processione ended at the Campo dei Giochi where the cavalieri competed for the palio which was won by Porta Romana.

A few hours after this there was the Processione in onore di Sant’ Emidio that made a circular route from the cattedrale along the streets around Piazza del Popolo and back to the cattedrale. This was a much more solemn affair as the nuns, monks, priests and local faithful chanted quietly while an ox pulled a cart carrying the silver statue of the patron saint.

This final night was capped by the Tombola di Sant Emidio where there was a balcony attached to the front of Palazzo Arengo and numbers were drawn until there was a winner proclaimed for the lottery, tickets cost 5€ and the top prize being 10,000€. As usual, we were not winners. At 1:00 AM the finale was a spettacolo pirotecnico over the Torrente Castellano that lasted almost an hour. This made for another long night as we finally plopped into bed well after 2 AM with the fireworks still ringing in our ears.

We will be looking forward to some quite time when we head south to visit family in a small town in Basilicata next week.

La Quintana opening day

La Quintana 2007

La Quintana in Ascoli Piceno dates from the thirteenth century and the activities start this weekend and continue until August 5th, the feast day for San Emidio, the city’s patron saint. This colorful event includes flag throwing competitions, archery competitions, various costumed processions, and two giostre. These events are competitions where the six sestiere, or neighborhoods, compete against each other for the prized Quintana banners, as well as bragging rights.

With medieval roots this event has colorful costumes, flowing banners, horses, knights in armor, flag throwers and the sounds of drums and trumpets. Put all of this in a medieval town setting where all of the citizens seem to either participate or are cheering spectators and you have a couple weeks to captivate your imagination.

This afternoon started with a procession of representatives of La Quintana, trumpeters, flag carriers and representatives of each sestiere marching into Piazza del Popolo for the opening ceremonies. Tonight there will flag throwing competitions with individuals and small groups from each sestiera.

On target

Freccia d’Oro

The events of La Quintana continued this past Sunday with the Gara degli Arcieri or Archery Competition between the sestiere of Ascoli Piceno. Piazza Arringo was turned into a mini-stadium with grandstands and in the center the arcieri competed. As with all of the events of La Quintana there was an opening and closing procession of musicians, knights, banners and the participants.

The participants were both men and women, young and old. Each sestiere had three to four members in period costume that competed in five events. They began with a fixed target on shields, then straw rolls suspended vertically, then smaller targets in a row followed by a target fixed to a swinging pendulum. The final event involved head to head competition between a single arciero from two sestiere whose targets were two counterbalanced water balloons, the first to hit their balloon won.

There were awards for the top three sestiere, Porta Solesta won this category, and for the best individual arciero that was won by Piazzarola. The awards were an individual freccia, or arrow.

This coming weekend La Quintana’s finale involves the events surrounding the Giostra della Quintana di Sant’ Emidio. Again the city will be filled with the sound of trumpets and drums and the sights of lords and ladies, knights and cavaliere, banners and colorful costumes as the piazze and streets will resemble a time long past.

Roll out the barrel!

Palio de le Botti

Our dilemma during the summer here in Italy is that there are too many things going on in and around Ascoli Piceno to be able to enjoy all the experiences available. We have been enjoying our share of La Quintana and sagre in the area and meeting a lot of new and interesting people in the process. With the approach of August there will be nightly concerts in the main piazze and the San Lorenzo Bianca Notte on the 10^th when the shops are open all night and the centro storico does not sleep. Later in August there are two weeks of free outdoor movie showings in one of the cloisters, Italy’s version of the drive-in movie.

Sometimes we have to make choices amongst the available feste, sagre, concerti and other events. Many times the best food being offered or the more unique event will win out as our choice. This past weekend we decided to join a friend in his hometown of Corropoli in Abruzzo to witness “Palio de le Botti”. Picture men pushing a very large empty wine barrel (60 Kg) around the streets of a medieval town and you will have an idea of this unique event.

The palio began with a parade of about 50 figuranti, much smaller than the one for La Quintana of course, followed by the actual race pitting one contrada against another. Teams of two men roll the botte up a short hill into the main piazza where they make one circle around the piazza and then in relay fashion another team of two takes over for another circle around the piazza and then up another street to the finish. Teams are judged on their time and each team gets two tries. The winning time is under 4 minutes.

There is also a race with the youngsters using small botti, the winners of both events are presented just before midnight to the entire town. The Palio is awarded to the winning team, who this year was Contrada Piane S. Donato in the white and red. Since this event didn’t begin until 9:30 PM lighting was an issue for photographs and we did not leave Corropoli to head back to Ascoli Piceno until almost 1 AM.

This weekend will be the culminating events here in Ascoli Piceno of La Quintana and the Festa di S. Emidio…more decisions to make.

Pageantry and a little chaos

La Giostra

The festivities in Ascoli Piceno continued this past weekend for La Quintana with the Saluto Madonna della Pace on Friday and on Saturday night was the first of two La Giostra or joust. The Saluto was a procession of one thousand people in period costume representing each of the sestiere as well as the surrounding castles that were at one time subject to the control of Ascoli Piceno, most of these are now flourishing towns of their own.
This procession began in Piazza Arringo and wound through the streets and Piazza del Popolo to end in Piazza Sant’ Agostino in front of the church of the same name. Once everyone was assembled the horses and their cavalieri rode into the piazza and stood in front of the priest who then blessed them, the Quintana and the city. Then the entire procession reversed the order back to Piazza Arringo.

Saturday night started with a procession through the main piazze and down Corso Emanuele to the stadium where le giostre are held. The streets and piazze were crowded with people to watch the twelve hundred costumed ladies, gentlemen, musicians, archers, men in armor, cavalieri and officials in medieval costume who made up the forty five minute parade. They continued into the stadium and filled the field before the actual la giostra began.

Just before the competition was to begin the lights went out in the stadium plunging everything into pitch black. After about half and hour the lights were all back on and we were ready to start.

La giostre is an oval course with a figure “8” in the middle. The cavalieri must ride around the oval once then into the figure “8” making three passes by the target, which is designed to look like a Moorish character. This is a timed competition and most completed the course in less than one minute. They are also judged on the accuracy of their target hit with their lance. There are three tries and the highest combined score wins.

The night had a bit of excitement and chaos as two of the horses and riders went down on the sharp curves while at full gallop but fortunately no riders or horses were injured. One cavaliero also lost his lance when he hit the target. All of these resulted in zero points for that cavaliero for that turn. One cavaliero also started his turn before given the clear signal from the officials and this resulted in chaos as he was first disqualified and then allowed to retry his turn.

That retry resulted in him having the highest score which brought out members of the other sestiere onto the field in protest. There were people all over the field and at one point there was an announcement that unless the field was cleared the event would be cancelled. Once order was restored la giostre continued and at the end the procession headed back out and along the same course through the centro storico well after 1:00 AM on Sunday morning.

The pageantry of the processions and la giostre with the pounding drums, blaring trumpets, colorful costumes, banners and medieval costumes is something unmatched in anything I have ever seen in America. This is truly an event that you won’t believe until you see and experience it.

Hail to the victors!

La Quintana – sbandieratori

Saturday and Sunday evening Piazza Arringo became full of drummers, trumpeters and sbandieratori or flag performers. This competition is part of La Quintana and each sestieri competes for the coveted palio and bragging rights for all of Ascoli Piceno.

These events are full of the colorful costumes of the sbandieratori, their flags and the sounds of the trumpets and drummers. Being in the middle of this pageantry is hard to describe; you can only fully understand it by experiencing it in person. It would be like trying to explain the experience of being in The Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio on a fall Saturday afternoon to someone who has never seen a college football game. The sbandieratori are all young men and perform with flags that are about a yard square that they twirl, toss and launch a hundred feet into the air. They may juggle as many as five flags at one time using both hands and their feet while keeping one or two flags airborne at the same time.

Each sestiere has as many as eighteen sbandieratori, twelve to eighteen drummers and as just as many trumpeters who compete in four separate competitions: singolo, coppia, piccolo squadra and grande squadra. The winner of each competition is awarded a prize and the combined score for each sestiere determines the winner of the palio. Porta Solesta with their yellow and blue were the favorites before the events started and they were awarded the palio on Sunday evening.

My favorite was the grande squadra that was a combination of sbandieratori and musicians who interwove together in a faced paced dance of flags and music. With the flags waving and launching over the musicians’ heads I never saw one who flinched. The musicians are a combination of males and female of varying ages. A performance that is difficult to capture with a camera.

Let the festivities begin...

La Quintana 2008

Today starts La Quintana in Ascoli Piceno. This summer festival pitches the sestiere of the centro storico against each other in a competition of sbandieratori, arcieri, bridge painting, costumes and two giostre. The events culminate in the Festa S. Emidio, honoring the patron saint of Ascoli Piceno the first weekend in August. As with any true Italian event there will be numerous dinners and sagre in commemoration.

The bands and sbandieratori have been practicing all year and there have been full rehearsals in Piazza Arringo for the past two weeks lasting until midnight to avoid the heat of the day. We are torn as to which sestiere we will cheer for as last year we lived in Piazzarola but this year we are in Porta Maggiore; and then there is always the under-dog S. Emidio.

There will be four weeks of nonstop activity here in Ascoli Piceno with the city filled with the sights, sounds and aromas of a truly unique event; you can’t comprehend it until you experience it yourself.

Always something to do in Ascoli Piceno

Too much to do?

When we lived in Albuquerque we sometimes found it frustrating that there seemed to be limited organized activities going on in town that locals could attend. Of course there were things you could pay to participate in, major events like sporting activities and the International Balloon Fiesta. However, we were never at a loss of things to do with the mountains is such close proximity.

Ascoli Piceno is a city that is one tenth the size in population of Albuquerque but there are an abundance of free events to keep the populace busy in the heart of the city. Sometimes in the centro storico it seems like there is too much going on to fit into one day. Since we moved here I do not recall a week-end when there was not at least one event. In addition to the weekly mercato there is the monthly mercato antico and the major events like Il Carnevale and the upcoming Quintana. There have been car rallies and antique car shows, bike and foot races, military parades and bands, folk groups dancing in the piazza, the centro has been turned into a mini Olympic village, special food exhibitions, religious festivals and parades, opening ceremonies for new museums or refurbished buildings, regular events at the historic Teatro Ventidio Basso and ever changing art exhibits in the Palazzo Capitani. Many events are announced with posters pasted to walls in a few select locations in the centro storico. These posters usually only show up a week before the event. As with all things in Italy many times there is an associated food or beverage with the event.

This week-end is one of those where there is more to do than we can fit in a day. All week-end is the mercato antico, there are two different sagre (neighborhood festivals), a festival for a holy relic, they are having concerts for the youth each night on the hill above our apartment and there is a mini-car Formula 1 race this afternoon.

July starts the famous Quintana where all of Ascoli Piceno participates in this medieval festival that stretches into August. It might get hot but there will be no lack of things for us to see, taste, hear and enjoy.

SlowTravel GTG

The past ten days have been busy for us despite the break in La Quintana activities.

Last week we were in Assisi for a Get Together with other Americans and Italians from SlowTravel. This is a website dedicated to travel for those who want to experience the places they visit versus just quickly seeing as many sights as possible. You can read Valerie’s monthly articles on slowtrav.com. Thursday there were about 30 people gathered at an agriturismo for food and fun where we had the chance to connect with some old friends. We also had the opportunity to meet some people in person that we only know from their blogs or their participation on SlowTravel. Despite the heat that is gripping Italy we enjoyed our time in Assisi, as always.

We returned to Ascoli Piceno which was in a midst of free nightly concerts in the main piazzas which means the city was busy until way past midnight every night. The heat of the day forced many people out on the streets at night to enjoy the cooler temperatures. We heard a variety of concerts from folk to jazz and even an exhibition of the tarantella dance from southern Italy.

This week we met with Giorgio who spent the past school year in Hurricane, WV in a student exchange program. We enjoyed being able to share some of his experiences with life in American for an Italian as well as ours as Americans in Italy. Giorgio seemed to enjoy being able to experience a different culture in person and you can read about his time in the US on his blog Un anno a stelle e strisce.

There is still no break in our summer heat as the La Quintana events resume this week-end and La Festa di Sant’ Emidio begins. Perhaps we will need a vacation from Ascoli Piceno after July is over.

Buon Ferragosto

Ferie

Today is Ferragosto, the major summer holiday for Italy. This day is based on the Catholic holiday Assunzione S. Vergine, or the ascent of Mary. This is the height of the holiday/vacation season in Italy. Last year when we lived in Anzio we saw an influx of people in that beach area, this year we are seeing the opposite in Ascoli Piceno. With La Quintana being over, signs have sprung up on shop windows that they are closed for at least part of August. There is a marked decrease in traffic and the usual passeggiata crowds are very thin. The percentage of tourists with their maps and cameras is greatly increased, the local papers have noted that the city will be vacant of residents and only the tourists will remain…and us. We prefer to avoid the holiday crowds.

This sign is in a bar window: Closed for vacation Opening Friday August 24,(Perhaps). Someone then wrote “But don’t say that”

Festa Italiana

More Italy in Ohio

This will be a quick follow-up to my last post as we had a great Italian experience this past weekend. The Unione Abruzzese Society of Akron held the Festa Italiana in nearby Cuyahoga Falls along their riverfront park area.


There were various booths providing food and drinks, a combination of Italian and your basic fair food. The best surprise for us amongst these booths was the one called “Emidio & Sons”. Sant’ Emidio is the patron saint of Ascoli Piceno and the name Emidio is very much an Ascolano name so we knew there had to be a Marche connection. While talking to the family member running the booth we learned that indeed their family is from a small town near Ascoli Piceno and the family has recently visited that area and attended La Quintana.


The best thing about the Emidio’s being there was they had Le Olive all’Ascolana, a wonderful reminder for us of Ascoli Piceno. These are olives stuffed with a mixture of meat and spices, breaded and then deep fried. For those of us who generally do not like olives these are good.

There was plenty of Italian music in the riverside amphitheater including several groups from Italy. The highlight for the ladies was Salvo Randazzo from Sicily whose good looks matched his amazing opera voice.

Piazza transformation

Ascoli Piceno uses her piazze like a stage both figuratively as the people parade through everyday as part of passeggiata but also literally as they become the location for various events. These events can range from simple playing fields for games of soccer to elaborate stages for national touring music or theatrical groups.

For Carnivale Piazza del Popolo is transformed into a huge ballroom with hanging chandeliers. For Pasqua season there are kids’ shows and dancers suspended from balloons over the crowds. In the summer stages appear for concerts. Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Arringo are the focal points of the La Quintana events hosting sbandieratori, arcieri and hundreds of costumed figuranti.

Many times a stage will be erected in the morning for an evening event and then be gone by the following morning. Some events are staged in church chiostri and on the main streets. All but a few of the events are free. Piazza del Popolo is turned into a closed theater for some of the major events where tickets are required. This is accomplished by erecting steel doors on the eight entrances to the piazza. Of course the caffes that line the piazza are none too thrilled when this happens as they are shut down for those events.

The grande piazze are the center stage for life here in Ascoli Piceno. These beautiful and historic public areas make for very interesting backdrops for any event.

Happening town

Ascoli Piceno seems to have some event going on every week-end. When we were here for language school this summer it was the middle of the World Cup soccer and the local Quintana so there were many activities related to those events. Since we moved here in mid-September there has been something going on almost every week-end. Regularly scheduled activities include the 3rd week-end of each month Ascoli Piceno has a large antique market in the centro storico and there is Wednesday and Saturday mercato. In addition to these we have witnessed other events such as art exhibitions in the Palazzo dei Capitani, various military bands marching through, local craft shows, various charity booths, and now with Christmas in full swing there are almost daily events leading up to New Years Day.

Today we were strolling through Piazza del Popolo and there was a display of vintage Fiats and motorcycles to gawk at. Inside Palazzo dei Capitani there was a craft show and raffle covering three floors. The leukemia and diabetes associations were providing free testing and selling poinsettias as a fundraiser. As we sat in the piazza watching the people go by we heard a band and a group of folk dancers paraded into the piazza and put on a display of dancing as the crowd gathered around them.

This is truly a town to keep you entertained.

Ascoli Piceno – Piazza Arringo

Ascoli Piceno has two large piazza but Piazza Arringo is the largest. This rectangular piazza is named for the arengo or public assemblies that took place here and is the political and religious center of town. On the east end of the piazza is the Cattedrale di San Emidio and Baptistry. Along the south side is the Palazzo dell’Arengo which houses the town hall and municipal art gallery. There are two matching fountains in the piazza where young and old alike take their turns getting drinks from bronze seahorses spouting water from their mouths.

This area is used for the monthly antique market, Quintana festivities, various holiday events and a daily place for people to stroll. There area several cafes along the north side where patrons can sit outside and watch people go by. There are several shops, restaurants, museums and a tourist information center located in Piazza Arringo.

The best of Ascoli Piceno

My personal favorites...

This weekend we are headed south to Santa Maria di Castellabate and I thought I would look back at my personal selections for the best of what Ascoli Piceno has to offer.

Caffé: This is a hard choice as I have developed good relationships with several barista and they all make a good cup of liquid gold. That said, my consistent favorite is made by Gianluca at Café Pretoriana, lui e un maestro.

Paste: This means pastries and you will find many of the same pastries from one location to the next here in town and unless the bar or pasticeria has a warmer on the counter they are served cold. There is no comparison between a cold and warm pasta. My favorite is the cornetto integrale at Café Melleti, served scaldato, warm. This whole grain pastry is filled with honey and lightly brushed with butter…no holds bared on the calories.

Gelato: I prefer Yogi which is located in Piazza Arringo. Their specialty is cioccolato, everything chocolate, and they make a chocolate gelato that is extremely rich, so rich I have to balance it with fiordilatte to not go into chocolate shock.

Olive all' Ascolana: I am not a fan of olives but when you stuff them with meat, coat with batter and fry them who can not like them. Grottino del Nonna Franca makes the best in town.


Bar atmosphere: This is another hard choice as there are different bars for different reasons. Café’ Melleti with its historic interior, sharply dressed staff and notable characters is the place to see and be seen in town.

Stuzzicchini: For those not in the know stuzzicchini are the snacks you get along with your drink when you order an aperitivo in the evening. Some bars give you no more than peanuts while others give you enough to make a meal. Some of the bars vary seasonally in the quality and quantity of their stuzzicchini but the one that is consistently the best would be Café Kursaal. If we are just looking for a light dinner for the price of a glass of wine we can always count on Dante at Café Kursaal.

Pizza: I mean pizzeria pizza, not the pizza al taglio where you get a slice to go. Part of having pizza is having the patate frite and a good birra Italiana. For this I prefer Il Menestrello where he will make the pizza how we want it, even if that means bringing our own green chile for a topping.

View point: If you are looking for a place where you can get a good view of the entire city you will be disappointed as the places that would have the best view are obstructed by vegetation. For a good view of the centro storico that highlights some of the towers then go just across Ponte Solesta and you will find a great location for photos.


Church: The Cattedrale is unique and has some beautiful artwork inside but for simplicity my favorite is Chiesa San Tommaso that occupies the piazza of the same name. This Romanesque church is made of the local travertine and has a simple interior with some interesting architectural aspects.

Place to eat: What one restaurant, osteria or tratoria in Ascoli Piceno exemplifies the food of this city? This is a tough choice as there are several places in town that we frequent and for different reasons - but for a good selection of local fare I prefer Trattoria Arengo in Piazza Arringo.

Piazza: I will have to agree with most of Italy and say Piazza del Popolo, this travertine covered piazza is the place to see people and be seen. There are few experiences like sitting at one of the cafes sipping a drink while you watch the parade of locals and their children go by.

Vino: The wines of the Piceno area tend to be strong, 14% is the norm and there are several that I think rival the more famous vintages of other parts of Italy. My favorite for its flavor, color and that it is unique only to this area is Vino Pecorino.

Event: There are many events during the course of a year in Ascoli Piceno but for the sheer magnitude, color, pageantry and the history involved my favorite by far is La Quintana. This medieval festival lasts four weeks and includes over a thousand costumed figuranti, jouste competitions, archery, spandetori and knights in armor. You do not understand the magnificence of this event until you actually witness it.


Museum: I tend to think of the entire city as a museum as there is so much history visible as you walk around. The museums in town are relatively small and you can easily see any one of them in about an hour but they do tend to have good exhibits. My favorite for the quality of the artwork is the Diocese Museo that is located near the Cattedrale.

So next time you are in Ascoli Piceno check out my favorites and see if you agree, Ascoli is a great place to visit for a day, a year or even a lifetime.