Tiptoeing through the tulips...
Castiglione del Lago is a picturesque little town, situated on a peninsula in the Trasimeno Lake, the "Umbrian Sea". Since 1956, the inhabitants celebrate spring time with the "Festa del Tulipano". The whole town is decorated with tulip flowers and the locals compete among each other to see who creates the most beautiful decorations on windows and balconies.
We arrived early to find street theaters, buskers, folk dance groups, brass bands, processions and games of the "Nobles" and the "Common people" in historical costumes (a true Renaissance Faire). Yesterday, the festival culminated in a big procession with flower decorated carts, displaying allegorical as well as satirical themes. Each cart represented one of the "rioni", the quarters of the town, displaying the quarter´s colors. The carts were covered in literally thousands of tulip flowers (usually the ones to short to be sold), arranged painstakingly to artistic compositions.
We picnicked while listening to folk music. We danced as parades strolled the streets. We chose a "rioni" that we rooted for. We strolled the ancient streets, delighting in the tulip decorations on the store fronts and the people meandering the streets. It was one of those "pinch me, I'm in Italy" moments.
1 comments:
How fun! What a great experience. Bob and Annie came at the perfect time! Of course, Italians find many things to celebrate, don't they? They like to throw a good party!
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