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La Balestra – part of the soul of Gubbio

When I think back to November 4, 2009, when I met so many Eugubini of three of Gubbio’s important societies, the one with balestriere Daniele A. was the one which had most impact on me. The words I have on my homepage, a quote of Albert Einstein will always come to my mind when I think of this time:
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
or in Italian:
La cosa più bella che possiamo sperimentare è il mistero; esso è la sorgente di tutta la vera arte e la vera scienza. Chi non riesce a provare questa emozione e non sa stupirsi di niente, e come se fosse morto: i suoi occhi sono chiusi.

During this afternoon at the training range of Gubbio’s balestrieri I learned so much about this tradition and, thanks to the best Christmas present ever, I have learned even more since 2011 and am now proud member of La Gloriosa Società Balestrieri della Città di Gubbio. Grazie mille, Daniele!!

The balestrieri take their ancient tradition very serious and still perform according to the old codex which was set up 500 years ago. This includes a very peaceful identification with their art and skills, in a way similar to the spiritual and philosophic principles of my former (Aikikai) Aikido practices, especially when we practiced with the wooden stick and sword. It is concentration and being one with the “instrument” (I can’t find a better word now).

Already the balestre (crossbows) are pieces of art. Although the functionality is almost the same for the balestre (except the trigger which can be above or below the bow body) the woodwork design is based on the ideas, philosophies, values of the individual balestiere. When Daniele A. showed us his balestre we could see that he is of Gubbio’s quartiere Sant’Andrea, since the plume symbol is carved on one side (main photo). The other side has an emblem which symbolises the ancient tradition of crossbowing: an old Medieval town with wall and tower and the tasso (target) and arrow (photo 3). The back end of the body has a stylised lion head with additional lion head carvings at the side. His second balestra is not carved but has inlay work: Palazzo dei Consoli on one side and all four quartiere unified (see photo in the quartiere description). And of course, Gubbio’s symbol, cinque colli is there, as metal decoration for the joints. Ah, speaking of the metalwork: the balestre have also griffons most probably made by Gubbio’s blacksmith Luigi Barbi (see photo).

The arrows are also handmade. They are 48 cm long, made of light wood with a heavy iron arrowhead. Consequently the centre of gravity is rather in the front of the arrow, that’s why they have to be shot in a parabolic curve to reach the target. Decoration of the arrows is also optional, Daniele Angeloni sees his as symbol of a bird in the flight and paints little dots for eyes next to the beak, the arrowhead.

I think, the words, Donatella Pauselli has chosen for the video about Palio della Balestra describe the meaning of a balestra best:
##The balestrieri have the faith that the arrow, like an invisible path, passes on the path of the ancient soul into the heart of man today.##
(Thank you again, dear Edvige, for having provided me with the key to your beautiful language, so that I could understand many parts of the texts, although it will still be a long way for me to go).

Maybe I should mention that I dream of learning this ancient tradition, but I am wise enough to understand that this is out of any discussion, since it is a tradition performed exclusively by men. So I will stick to my Aikido staff to practice inner peace and concentration.
Update, June 11, 2012:
sometimes, dreams come true. Although I can't call it learning! But on Sunday, June 10, 2012, I was allowed to try shooting the balestra on their training ground: Dreams come true. My first shoot was a mess, because I missed one important advice. But the second, after I have listened carefully to the advice of the master, Gianpiero Bicchielli, was not that bad!!!

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Sbandieratori, the flag throwers

THE meeting point in Gubbio

There was a time way in the past when not everyone had a clock (let alone computers and internet, haha). Bells to tell the time was one thing for everyone but another is one or more huge clocks at town centres or in town wall gatetowers, like the one in Speyer, Germany. This way any visitor who approached the town could see what time it was already from the distance. Gubbio has also such a clock, albeit not that big as the one in Speyer or in Venezia La Serenissima. But it is located in the centre of the lower town, at Piazza Quaranti Martiri where Via della Repubblica leads uphill to Palazzo dei Consoli. It is simply referred to as “L’Orologio” (the clock) and it is the meeting point for locals. So if you plan to meet up with a local and he or she tells you let’s meet at l’orologio, this is exactly where you are supposed to go to.

Update, April 2012:
Much to my delight, in Gubbio's electronic newspaper, I have read that the clock will be restored. I always felt a bit sorry for the clock because it looks very much worn out (since I know it). But thanks to Trebino, a company in Genova, it will be looking nice again. I smiled when I read the news because the same company watches over the mechanism of my beloved Campanone. The clock will be back in time for 2012's Festa di Ceri, May 15.

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => In the footsteps of San Francesco

Signs of the Guelphs in Gubbio

Ever since I saw swallow-tail pinnacles in Venezia, they fascinated me. And then I learned that they have a special meaning and stand for ghibelline (supporters of the emperors) buildings, while rectangular ones symbolise the presence of guelphs (supporters of the church). Gubbio was in favour of the ghibellines for a long time, but eventually guelphs took over for a period of time before they were thrown out of the town by ghibellines. But during the time of the guelphs, Palazzo dei Consoli has been built or planned, because it has the typical guelph pinnacles. Who likes to know more, here is something to read about the history of guelphs and ghibellines.

© Ingrid D., February 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Madonnas and frescoes everywhere
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Luigi Barbi's artwork everywhere in Gubbio

Already during my first visit to Gubbio in April 2008 I was fascinated by these metal rings at Palazzo dei Consoli. I thought that they are old and meant to lash horses while the owners were doing business or discussions inside the Palazzo. Yes, that’s certainly true but more fascinating is that they are still being forged. I realised this when I looked at some of them a bit closer. Mainly the ones at Palazzo Bargello are of newer date and the symbols have cute shapes. Not only there is one with cinque colli (photo 3), Gubbio’s symbol but there are roosters (photo 2), a funny dog or sheep (photo 4) and fabulous animals, mostly looking like dragons (photo 5). Thanks to my Italian teacher Edvige Galasso I had the chance to met Gubbio’s blacksmith Luigi Barbi in his smithy and saw many of his other artwork. He still forges beds and house decorations and said horse lashes. And since he is member of Gubbio’s Società Balestieri it is logical that Palazzo Bargello, seat of the society, has a whole set of the horse lashes at the walls. In addition, he does marvellous iron works on the balestre, the cross-bows.

Update, May 2010:
Thank you dear Luigi, Edi and Daniele for your wonderful idea of a late birthday surprise! Now I have my own griffone at home, hand made by Luigi :-)

© Ingrid D., December 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Palazzo Bargello

Old measuring sign at Palazzo dei Consoli

Old measuring systems have a certain fascination for me. So I was delighted to see the one at Palazzo dei Consoli. It is similar to the one in Speyer and should most probably means 12 inches in length. Obviously there was another longer one next to it, but the iron bar is no longer there.

Other old measurement standards are in Dornoch (Scotland), cloth size (by Joan, @scotishvisitor), Heidelberg, pretzel size (by Christine), Venezia, fish scale and Norcia, measuring grain.

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Luigi Barbi's artwork at Palazzo dei Consoli

You will always know what time it is :-)

One of the fascinating traditions in Gubbio, apart from the societies, are the bells. No, now I do not refer to il Campanone, but to the bells which announce the time. Anytime they ring it is obvious which time it is. At 4:45 p.m. (16:45) for example they will chime with three high pitched tones announcing 3x15 minutes, followed by sixteen low pitched tones for 4 o’clock. In practice this means that the bells chime every fifteen minutes. I have yet to find out which one rings the hours (although I am sure that it is the Campanone itself) but the quarter of the hours are being rung by la Mezzana, the one in Palazzo dei Consoli’s torretta (note that it is not called campanile), the bell which faces the valley.

Oh, consequently this means that everyone with a light sleep MUST bring earplugs. The bells are ringing in Gubbio literally since ages and will do so until the world collapses. No need to scream like this idiot tourist did in Mezzema, Liguria. No one will ever stop Gubbio's bells ringing because of a stupid tourist complaints. Which is good. These silly tourists should stay at home since they never ever get to the point of different countries – different customs.

Somehow I seem to have a secret bond with the bell(s). Most of the time when I am in Gubbio I won't bother to look at my wrist watch but wait until I hear the bells. And once I sat in the garden of Federica's place, chatting with her, when we wanted to know what time it is. I said something like "Campanone, suona" (Campanone, ring) ... and it rang the time only seconds after!

© Ingrid D., December 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Palazzo dei Consoli
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I Maestri del Silenzio, my heroes :)

I already wrote about the regular ringing of il Campanone, the big bell on top of Palazzo dei Consoli in my to-do section. This is now about the campanari, the society of masters of the bells. Ringing il Campanone is an age old tradition in Gubbio and has more than a pure religious meaning (if any). It always meant to announce important dates for the city and festivals, which becomes obvious in the Campanari schedule. Emphasis is of course given to the Ceri festivals in honour of Sant’Ubaldo, the patron saint, and the two tournaments of Gubbio’s balestrieri. But another important date is October 30, which signifies the fusion or casting of the actual Campanone.

Piero Luigi Menichetti wrote in Storia di Gubbio (1987):
“The voice of this giant bell is, for non Eugubinians, harmonious, beautiful, limpid, interesting. But for the people of Gubbio it is much more. It is the voice of their native land: it stirrs the heart, exites emotion and makes eyes glisten – it is the voice of the soul of the city!”
which describes best what the bell means for the locals.

The room where the campanari meet is fantastic. It has a secret entrance in Palazzo dei Consoli and on the vaulted ceiling the dates and names of previous ringings are written. Today this is done in a book. Many pictures, drawings, models cover the walls and of course ceri brocche (jugs) on the little shelf. These are of the San Giorgio group, obviously one of the campanari (Luigi Barbi, the blacksmith, to be precise) is Sangrigoriano. And of course it is the place where they celebrate other events, such as New Year 2010 :-). When I was up there with Edvige, my Italian teacher, it was the November 4 ringing at noon (in memory of the end of WWI for Italy). One of the campanari came with his little son and later it turned out that the son was born one year ago, exactly at the noon ringing! Of course this was reason enough to open a bottle of bubbly and eat fave dei morti, the delicious cookies. And I bet that this little boy will be member of the Campagnia dei Campanari della torretta del Palazzo dei Consoli della città Gubbio (the full name of the society) when he is grown up.

I was lucky enough that the society has published a book, a piece of art to be precise (both format, photos and font), at the occasion of the 234th birthday of the Campanone, 2003. It is called I Maestri del Silenzio, is available at Foto Libri in Gubbio, Corsa Garibaldi, and comes with a DVD with most fascinating recording and texts. Why am I not at all surprised that Giampaolo Pauselli (the one who was responsible for the four videos I like all the time) also made most of the recordings? Fascinating slow motion and close ups. No need to mention that, since I bought it, I watched it about more than 500 times.

© Ingrid D., November 2009, updates Feb 2012 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => a very local custom in context to the bell

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Website: http://www.eugubininelmondo.it/Campanari.html

Fascinating flag throwers’ skills

When I was in Gubbio for the first time in April 2008, I was extremely lucky to see one of the flag throwers’ performances. I was on my way uphill to the cathedral when I suddenly heard some drums. Very much curious I almost raced downhill to find out that there was a huge crowd on Piazza Grande (which was deserted one hour ago, during my visit in Palazzo dei Consoli’s museum). In the middle of the piazza, a very much colourful group of men in ancient dresses were throwing flags. But not only throwing them into the air, but they were doing all kinds of artistic movements like throwing them to their partners, jumping with the flags and juggling with them. Even the kids have their appearance! And they are already fantastic performers!

The tradition of flag throwing is quite old. Already in 1435, Gubbio had people whose profession it was to throw or wave flags during religious or local events. The group, which is performing this artistic skill today, is existing since 1969. Their goal is not only to practise this skill, but also to demonstrate their strong bond to the land and their city. If you look close, you can see that many of the flags have Umbrian letters embroided (the ones which have been carved into the Iguvine Tables) – a clear devotion and manifestation to their hometown and their very old origin.

When you are in Gubbio, ask at the tourist office if the Sbandieratori (flag throwers) have an appearance during your visit and make sure to go and watch it! Describing this is one thing, but watching the accuracy of their skills and the fun these guys have, together with the drums is something special.That’s why I ask you to have a look at the three videos in youtube, which Giampaolo Pauselli has put together. They are all made in this fascinating slow motion with many close ups and the perfect music.
Sbandieratori video, 4 minutes, with “1492” by Vangelis,
The vioce of peace, 3 minutes, which maybe is the best one to show what the flags stand for: peace and brotherliness, which the flag throwers stand for,
father and son, dressing up and performing, 5 minutes with music by Ennio Morricone; the boy is Matteo Menichetti and one of the boys who perform during the sbandieratori manifestations.
(Unfortunately, the latter one cannot be watched from German accounts due to terrorism by German greedy GEMA and their inability to come to peace with Youtube).

Update, after my second visit in Oct/Nov 2009:
Thanks to my dear Italian teacher Edvige I had the chance to meet Andrea B. of Gubbio’s Sbandieratori. He showed me their sanctum, the place where the flags are being kept in between the performances and explained us a lot about the meanings of the flags’ designs. Of course there are the ones for the four quartiere; the actual ones are white with red rim and red quartiere symbol in the middle (in the videos they are sometimes the other way around, these are the older ones). Then there are sixteen flags with Iguvine letters (designed by Oscar Piatelli), of course one with the Campanone, four ones in modern design with the three colours of Ceri festival, yellow, blue and black, one flag with the symbol of peace, one for Gubbio (with cinque colli symbol), one for Gubbio as a city in Europe (all in blue with the yellow stars and Palazzo dei Consoli), the flag of Umbria, one for Olympia, one with the symbol of the Medieval rondell headress and one with the letters DUX FE for Federico da Montefeltro. More about the various symbols is nicely shown in a fascinating video. The flags all are made of silk or silk like material, very soft and very light but the handle is rather heavy, so an additional thanks to Andrea for having held the four up so patiently until I made my photo! Andrea Baffoni is the one who often carries the standard (flag), also in April when I saw them performing for my first time. And his cute little son Stefano is very proud following his father’s tradition and is one of the kids who performs.
Grazie mille Andrea for your time, especially since it was almost lunch time!!

To see more of these artists, please visit their website Sbandieratori, flag throwers, which has impressively improved since mid 2011, or read more on Gubbio’s special website.

© Ingrid D., November 2009, updates Feb 2012 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Campanone, the bell

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Website: http://www.sbandieratori.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=115&lang=en_EN

Drummers and costumes, typical for festivals

Gubbio’s societies are in perfect harmony when it comes to festivals. Sbandieratori for example perform during the Christmas Tree illumination, at the opening of the truffle fair, during Ceri festival and surely many more. The campanari ring il campanone during the many festivals and then there is the group of tamburini (drummers) and the one who appear in these marvellous historical costumes. These are of magnificent quality, often velvet and with marvellous stitched parts. My Italian teacher told me that these costumes are handmade according to historical patterns. Next time I try to find out more about them. And then the drummers. They are, according to ancient traditions, the ones who call the crowd to gather and announce events and festivals. As far as I could see, Gubbio has three groups of tamburini, each of them belonging to a special society. The Ceri tamburini are the ones who march and call during the Ceri festivals each are belonging to one of the three ceraioli families of Sant’Ubaldo, San Giorgio and San Antonio, easily to find out through the colours of drum and waistband and are otherwise dressed in white pants and red shirts. Gubbio’s Sbandieratori tamburini drum during sbanderatori performances and then there are the San Martino tamburini, the ones which were gathering the crowd at the opening of the truffle fair. And standing next to them when they drum is something I will also never forget! It shoots right into the heart.

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Helpful tourist office & iPhone apps
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There is always room for a garden :-)

With its extreme hillside location, there is not much room for a garden for most of the houses at the slope. But while I was walking up and down through Gubbio I was fascinated how inventive the locals are when it comes to a bit of green around their hoses and apartments. Little “bridges” connect houses and their tops have been transformed into terraces. These are not big, but enough to pull chairs and plants out in summer. I especially liked the one in my main photo and was dreaming to live there and spend half of the day out in my chair, enjoying the sun and the serene atmosphere. Haha, and listen to the bell…
And… I know that I will do exactly this one day. Ok, maybe not exactly this one, but I will find my apartment with little balcony :-)

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

continue with next review => Earthquake damage in Gubbio
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