Of Mediaeval Festivals

How many of you knew that there is a masterpiece of Florentine architecture only a half-an-hour’s drive from Lucca? Brunelleschi, famous for designing and building Florence cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore’s cupola, also projected the imposing fortress at Vicopisano just on the other side of the Pisan Mountain. This fortress was built in 1434 after the surrounding Pisan territory had been conquered by the Florentines and has an unique feature – a “rescue” wall descending from the main keep walls down to the river Arno (or where the river used to be as it was diverted to its present course in 1560). This wall enabled the castle to be supplied with food and armaments if besieged or, alternatively provided an escape route for its defenders if the opponents’ siege was successful. The main feature of the fortress is the mastio (or keep) which can be accessed via an aerial staircase – (not suitable for vertigo sufferers!). The views from the top are transcendent.

Vicopisano is also an excellent scenario for its Mediaeval Festa.

With all our once local Val di Lima mediaeval feste gone (there was a time when Casoli, Lucchio and Gombereto all held their own events – Gombereto’s is the last to have disappeared and this year there was no Festa medievale there) one has to go further afield for the experience of seeing mediaeval combat, traditional games falconry displays, fireworks, noble lords and ladies in all their finery, ancient crafts and pastimes and all the other delights of a medieval fair.

The main ones we’ve been to are at:

Nozzano

Volterra – the best so far

Coreglia Antelminelli

Castiglione Garfagnana

All, except Volterra, are within an hour’s drive of Bagni di Lucca and all are promised again during next summer. Of course, further afield there will be magnificent pageants at Arezzo (Giostra Del Saraceno), Siena (Palio), Gubbio (corsa dei ceri) and so forth.

We did enjoy the Vicopisano festa very much and attended it on its best day, last Sunday. The big Saturday evening pageant was washed out because of heavy rain. It must have been so disappointing for all concerned.

To get to Vicopisano is easy. There are two routes. The one via Altopascio takes you across a flat almost fen-like plain (were it not for the sunflowers) . The clouds (as in the fenland) were particularly impressive.

The other route takes one closer to the Pisan Mountain and crosses a delightful area called il Compitese where there is one beautiful village after another. Here are some photos of Castelvecchio perched high on a ridge overlooking the plain formerly occupied by lake Bientina, of which only a small part now remains after drainage. The views of the Apuan mountains from here are pretty impressive too.

Regrettably we weren’t able to stay until the evening so we couldn’t see all the pageants and firework displays. On the other hand, when we were leaving, so many visitor cars were entering the environs of beautiful Vicopisano that we were a little glad we weren’t caught up in the rush. Truly, the high spot of this festa (about one and a half hour’s drive from BDL is in the evening). Anyway, here are a few corners of the festa including the incredibly good English-language speaking Châtelaine of the castle-fortress of Vicopisano: