scenes from Montecchio Medievale

Many flock to Verona to visit the famed Juliet's balcony; however, a more local legend has it that the feuding families called the hills of Montecchio Maggiore with its twin castles home. This weekend the historical - cultural - reenactment society La Faida hosted its annual medieval festival at the castles: Montecchio Medievale.

The festival exceeded our expectations, and it was the perfect outing for a little girl who watched both The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Gnomeo and Juliet in the same week.  (I love it when unrelated things coincidentally fall into place that way.)  I think her favorite part was the conversation with the guy making the chain mail armor, ring by tiny ring. My favorite part was our opportunity to climb all the way to the top of one of the castle towers, a tower usually not open to the public.

And did I mention that it's entirely free?

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You can read more about the local legend, which is based on the fact that Vicenza's own Luigi Da Porto (1485-1529) was one of the first author's of the tale that lives on in Shakespeare's words today. (Okay, so it's a stretch ;)

More images of our day are here on Flickr.