San Michele in Teverina is protected by St Bartholemew, who is also the patron saint of Armenia, bookbinders, butchers, Florentine cheese (eh?), salt merchants, Malta, neurological diseases (and those who seek their cure), plasterers, shoemakers, tanners and leather workers (he was flayed).
Our village church has a large statue of him, and every year, in the week leading up to his Feast Day (August 24th), we celebrate with Masses in his honour, live music in the piazza every evening, games for the children, an Ape Gymkhana (see photo), and on the final day, a procession of the statue around the village.
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| This is an Ape (Ah-Pay), Italy's answer to the ute. |
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| Gruppo Folkloristco arriving... |
This year, on the Sunday afternoon, we also had a "Gruppo Folkloristico" come and perform. The first impression was more Main Street, USA than Corso d'Italia, but they were a lot of fun...AND check out the ribbons on their hats.
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| Yes, Italy does feature... |
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| The funny man with the scissor cymbals. |
The marching/cheer leading girls were a big hit, and highly skilled. It was an original act, and I think most people enjoyed the music and the dancing. The main thing is that our village is protected for another year, and we can rest easy.
1 comment:
I do enjoy events like this, thanks for sharing this one, good to know your village is protected for another year.
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