Calendimaggio ~ Assisi at Night

Wrapping up Calendimaggio ... I thought I would share how beautiful the festival is at night. These first few photos are of the "back streets" where no one but the participants and judges can go. It's all very authentic ... no electric lights ... even our hotel which was a few hundred feet down the road was only burning candles in the lobby!

I made friends with a sweet young Italian security guard and after 45 minutes chatting about "Lost" and how they would end the television series, he snuck me in after the judges and performers had left. It was so beautiful ... there were candles and lanterns and straw strewn all over the ground. "Parte de Sotto" had set up a whole medieval market place with chickens and pigs and carts, with everything from food to pottery. It was like I had stepped over a threshold into the past. It was like a dream.

The last night of the Calendimaggio festival, before the announcement of the winner of this years festival, there were night performances of medieval choirs, more costumed processions and stories and fables played out.

There had been more events durning the afternoon and we'd spent the early evening at the home of one of our new friends that lives in a converted old medieval pigsty with a view of the valley behind Assisi. From there we watched the sunset behind the old medieval "Rocca Maggiore" (fortress) that sits atop Assisi. It was enchanting.

We chatted with all of these interesting people who had moved to, or were staying for an extended time in Assisi. We had wine and fruit and cheeses, salads and desserts. Frankly, we were ready to fall asleep by the time the show started again at ... 10:30 maybe? It was, of course, "Italian time" so they were rather late getting things started!

It was amazing to see everything that went into a three day festival ... you can see all the time and energy and passion that goes into every moment, every detail. Passion and love.

There is no end.

There is no beginning.

There is only the passion of life.

~Federico Fellini

(Needless to say, I'm really glad I stayed awake!)