Bevagna, Italy

Our day started with walk around Spoleto. The wall that Denise and I are standing in front of is a Roman wall. You can tell it is of Roman times because of the size of the large stones that were used.

We grabbed a slice at Denise's favorite pizzeria. It was delicious! I got the funghi pizza (it is much better than it sounds...).

Over the course of the 3 week Spoleto festival there are many free events throughout the day. We snuck into a newly renovated theater and, on brand new butter-soft leather seats, watched a 40 year old Fellini movie. We snuck out soon after when it seemed to be going nowhere fast. I guess I am not a Fellini enthusiast!

Since we had got such a high from sneaking into the last place we thought we would try another location. We snuck into Teatro Nuevo, the performing arts theater, through a bar door. The theater is beautful.

In the afternoon, when it got a bit cooler, we headed over to Bevagna for the last day of the Mercato delle Gaite, a 10 day historical event that commemorates the daily life of the city between 1250 and 1350.  The townspeople dress up in medieval garb, and compete between the four neighborhoods for the one that best recreates midevil times. Basically it is like going to an authentic Renaissance Faire.

Bavagna is another hill town that we didn't need an excuse to go admire. We had excellent timing to be there during the festival which has been going on since the 1700's.

One of the competitions is in archery. The townspeople booed or cheered when names were called depending on their neighborhood.

This was yet another interesting way to spend an evening, being part of this small comunities eccentric traditions.