Teeny Tiny's Travel Tuesdays: Assisi Day Two

If you go to Assisi on a strictly tourist basis, you might think that there is no reason to stay there for more than one night. Teeny Tiny asserts that your assumption is flawed. Not only are there plenty of amazing things to keep you occupied for days, but the quiet pace of Assisi is also a perfect respite after running around Rome or Florence or any of the other big cities that impel speed and urgency.

If you are lucky (or a good planner), you might end up in town in the days leading up to the great May festival, Il Calendimaggio. During this three-day festival at the beginning of May, the Assisans celebrate their Holy Week and the life of Saint Francis. They transform the town into the place it was in the 14th century, covering all signs of modernity and adorning every winding street with pieces of the past.

When Teeny Tiny arrived, he wandered through the narrow hilly streets to get to his hotel. Around every corner was an Assisan, arms loaded with boughs cut from the trees that blanket the slopes of Monte Subasio. Anyone not covered in leaves was carting about yards of silk or medieval-looking weapons.

It turned out that the entire town gets involved to reenact the 14th-century battle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, as represented by the Fiumi and Nepis families, respectively. Briefly, the Guelphs supported the Papacy, while the Ghibellines supported the Emperor, and their feuding engulfed most of central and northern Italy throughout the Middle Ages.

The three-day festival is a joyous series of dances, rituals, and other ceremonies in which the town welcomes Spring and celebrates it history and community. The town, as it did in the 14th century, divides itself between the Parte de Sotto (lower) and the Parte de Sopra (upper), and it appears that each person in town is assigned a role, from the most disaffected teenager to the grumpiest patriarch. The winning neighborhood captures Il Palio, the town banner, and bragging rights for the year.

Because Teeny Tiny's travel agent wasn't completely on the ball, he happened to be in Assisi the two days before Il Calendimaggio. His hotel, off of the piazza in front of San Rufino, was in the center of the Parte de Sopra. Teeny Tiny was lucky enough to be hanging out in the square in the evenings when the neighbors, all clad in their blue Sopra jackets and sweatshirts, each with the name of the role across the back, came together to practice their medieval horn playing and drumming. Others practiced their swordplay and crossbow work or fancy dances. After practice, the Sopras met the red-clad Sottos in the main piazza for some friendly ribbing and loud drinking.

Teeny Tiny had to leave before he saw the townsfolk engage in the ritual dancing, parades, and games. He didn't get to see the march up to the Rocca Maggiore with torches and banners. He didn't eat medieval food or play medieval songs, but his time among the folks before the pageantry gave him a sense of the town that he could not have gotten simply as an observer of its festival.