Events in Montepulciano
Il Bruscello
it is the most traditional and popular form of opera, we are used to knowing Italian art in its highest form, but almost all artistic representations actually have a substratum of popular culture.
The Bruscellanti, in past centuries, were artist peasants, who in particular periods of the year, went from the farm to the farm with an oak branch (the bruscello), which was used to make them recognized.
Once they arrived in the Cascine or in the farmyard theaters, they staged small epic performances recited and sung; these representations were much loved by those who had had to stop their studies to go to work in the fields, they were more than amusement, they were a breath of fresh and relaxing air, it was a dip in the beautiful; the singers of the bruscello recite, or rather sing "in eighth rhyme", a very particular metric form that gives life to an ancestral chant and from which the "recitative" of the theatrical opera of the '700 and' 800 is born.
Traditionally, in Bruscello, epic themes are represented: the life of heroes, saints, but also brigands, or illustrious characters, however all known and loved characters; the ending is not necessarily always happy, indeed, it is often a drama, like Romeo and Juliet or the story of Paolo and Francesca taken from Dante's Divine Comedy.
The bruscello can still be admired on the nights of August.
The Bruscello company was established in 1939. The company is a very ancient form of association, dating back to the Middle Ages and as you can see, it is open to anyone who wants to participate, from children, to the elderly of any class and social condition and has been collaborating for decades with the Institute of Music.
Other information: bruscello.it
BRAVIO
On the last Sunday of August, the traditional "Bravio delle Botti" takes place in Montepulciano, a historical re-enactment of a challenge between the eight city districts, which in the past competed with horses and today with barrels.
The barrels, weighing about 80 kg each, are pushed and rolled by two athletes for each district called "pusher", along the uphill path of about 1800 meters which winds through the suggestive streets of the historic center of the Polizian city until on arrival located in the cathedral square in Piazza Grande.
The race is traditionally preceded by a well-kept and fascinating historical procession made up of over three hundred figures moving along the same path, offering flag games and images from the past. "
In the Middle Ages there was a race with horses, which was reinvented in 1974 by a priest much loved by the whole community, Don Marcello del Balio.
Defining the boundaries of the districts was not difficult: all the Italian Municipalities have statutes that generally belong to the 14th century and are very detailed on the boundaries of the districts or "districts" and on the festivities that took place in that period.
The Contradas are based solely and exclusively on volunteering, from the Governing Council to the workers: for those who will go to dinner on the warm nights of August, they will notice that each one is organized in this way: children and boys are served at the tables smaller clearers; in the kitchen there are older men and women.
This particular hierarchy serves above all to get out of the house, incorporate, make everyone collaborate and participate, from the smallest to the largest.
The foods of the Contrade are so good, because in general the sauces, meats and pici are made by older ladies and gentlemen. Traditional Italian cuisine is not based on the exact quantity of the ingredients, but on the quality of the products and on the experience of knowing how to mix them together: a sauce from a girl or a young boy will never be the same and perfect as that made by her grandmother !
The young people deal with the barrel competition, trainings, tactics, etc., or work for the historical procession, flags, drums, clothes.
The beautiful clothes that you will see in the various historical parades, are made above all by the Umbrian textile companies, specialized in period clothes; they work not only for these village festivals, but also for cinema and theater.
The new generations have gone beyond the borders of the districts and have created small associations that collaborate together such as the Sbandieratori Group and Tamburini. In recent years, women have also entered the youth groups, they have even made an appearance in pushing the barrels; small innovations, tears to the very important rules for a Latin-type culture, which still often sees women willingly, as a being submitted to men. For a positive evolution of society, these small but practical events are much more important than ad hoc laws, if necessary, or protests in the streets.
Our apartments are in the Cagnano district (green and blue).
Other information www.braviodellebotti.com