Showing posts with label Volterra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volterra. Show all posts

23 August 2012

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?)
gambling painter

Hope for a good run as the medieval carnies prep the gaming apparatus. med gaming2

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

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

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.


21 August 2012

da Vinci's masterpiece, restyled

Mona Richard Mona Dana Mona Maddy



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.