Monday, 12 October 2009

Medieval times in Umbria.

11th October 2009

Today we are in Trevi, a medieval hill top town in Umbria and not far from Assisi. We have spent the last few weeks touring the hill towns of Marche and Umbria and have come here as a last stop before we head further south for the medieval festival currently taking place.

Last night we were treated to a drumming competition (picture) in which 3 teams from the different areas of town competed. Each team had about 10 members and as a grand finale they all played together, the noise was phenomenal! Today there has been a huge archery competition and procession. Its all very Montagues and Capulets; "terziere" or areas of town competing against each other, with different flags, costumes and songs. In fact this weekend is part of a month long tournament that started with a Palio (horse race) last weekend and ends in another 3 weeks time. By the end of last nights drumming you could see just how high passions run by the air borne drum sticks and whoops when the winners were announced.

The local products market here today is stacked with Olive Oil, Cheese and salami and has truffles worth €250/kg! This morning we went to the town museum, which had a great section on the making of Olive Oil, a process as seriously undertaken and complex as that for wine. The views through the town gates out across the olive groves are stunning.

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