corner view

corner view :: energy

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo) / Florence, Italy
August 2012

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Volterra AD 1398 | Medieval Gaming

The likelihood of Richard and I traveling over hill and dale to attend this type of festival is fairly slim. Okay. Honestly. We would never engage in this type of entertainment. But now we have this little person to consider as we wander about here and there, and the older she gets, the more we are forced welcome the opportunity to consider her needs. There is generally hell to pay when we don't. So, instead of spending the day being fussy over wine, cheese, oil, shopping, landscapes, music or art, we agreed to check out the medieval festival. You know, for the kid, to broaden her horizons ... poor deprived child. 

It wasn't all that bad. Another favorite part of the day for all of us, besides our Mona Lisa masterpieces, was the guinea pig gambling. Oh, yes, you read that correctly!

It goes like this ...

Put up the money and select your lucky numbers. (Also show off artwork from nearby Medieval art school...unicorns?)

Hope for a good run as the medieval carnies prep the gaming apparatus.

Let the games begin! The basket is lifted and the protagonist is ready.

With taunts and jeers gentle urging from the betting crowd, the little guy chooses a numbered hole for safety.

It turns out that our numbers were not so lucky after all as the piggy failed to choose even one of our numbers as he scurried into a dark hole. The winner walked away with a mystery prize inside a brown paper bag. Looked a lot like vino to me :) Bummer...good thing we weren't there for the wine.

da Vinci's masterpiece, restyled

Just plain family fun!

Richard's work took him to Tuscany this weekend, so Young One and I followed along for a bit of a "last hoorah" of summer travel. Wouldn't you? Come on, it's Toscana. While there, we did a bit of time travel to the middle ages at the Volterra AD 1398 festival in the ancient hill town of Volterra in the province of Pisa. Young One, in particular, had a very good time at the kid-friendly event, but we all three loved the Mona Lisa portraits, even if she is a bit of an anachronism in this setting. (Well, isn't she? A woman of the Renaissance? Help!) No bother, anyhow... While I cannot explain the excitement in placing our faces in this hanging painting, it had all three of us giggling and in stitches for a long a very long time.

I hope to share more photos of the festival (which is by far the best of its kind that I have experienced) here soon. It continues through 26 August.

going back -- sometimes it works

We call this "quality time."

Visiting, baking, lounging, crafting, photographing, napping, cycling, fire-building, reading, laughing, remembering, dreaming, conversing, playing, and planning.

Being.

This group does it exceptionally well together, especially in the cradle of a centuries-old farmhouse.

Simple felt ornament patterns from OxeyeDaisey 

......................

During the course of the ten years that I've lived in Italy, this is the one place that I have returned to time and again. Richard and I first visited before Young One was born and continued frequent visits until about two years ago, with quite a cast of characters with us at one time or another along the way. Our dear friend who was the impetus for these visits passed away and so did our draw to the house located in Umbria, near the Tuscan border. Timing, good fortune, and simple kindness on the part of the daughter of our friend allowed us to return this weekend. The time there awakened warm memories of previous visits, tucking a small piece of each those characters from years gone by in my heart, and calmed my soul, nurturing important friendships I share today ... I am now ready for Christmas.