Men in Tights

There is no better way to end a weekend than watch two hundred men walk around in multi-colored tights. Mom and I returned to Sansepolcro today for “Le Feste del Palio della Balestra”. This is an annual crossbow challenge where Sansepolcro challenges another city, Gubbio. Last weekend was the first crossbow round in which Porta Romana and Porta Florientina, the two sides of the town, competed to see who would participate this weekend. I am happy to announce that the Palazzo Alberti side of Sansepolcro, Porta Florientina, was representing tonight against Gubbio! The “piaze” (central square) was an array of colors as the Italian men paraded around in brightly tinted tights. Last weekend, Giacomo described me as being “fashionated” by this ancient tradition. I had to tell him that I was fascinated, not “fashionaed”. But despite the English tongue twister, I think he invented a good word to describe how I feel about Italian men in tights. Tonight I was “fashionated” as the color guard preformed and the crossbow men astonished the crowd with their accuracy on the target. The piaze was like nothing I had ever seen in the United States. There is a certain behavior and dress that must be conformed too. Everyone involved was meticulously dressed in medieval costumes; the crowd was passionate about the event. When I asked my friends from Sansepolcro if they were attending the Palio della Balestra, the answer was always “No”. At first, I did not understand why anyone would want to miss so much excitement. But, then I imagine to them it is like Thanksgiving and the Macy’s Christmas Day parade. Once you have seen the same thing for 20 years, the men in tights are not so exciting anymore!