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Arezzo Sbandieratori
“Just a
glance and their colors and mastery mesmerize you.
Just a glance and you can see the sign of an ancient tradition of
chivalry.
In the whirl of flags time stops in the square and the battle of
Campaldino lives again.
They are the tradition and the appearance that involve those who have
recent and different olden times too.
And so it was all around the world, anytime the sky got colored and
scraped by the rustle of their flags.
Success was widespread and enthusiastic each time, since their
performance goes beyond sheer folklore.
The flag-wavers are the icon of the city. A city whose men ennobled a
hundred-year long history.
The emblem of Arezzo, standing out on the banner; the virtuosity in not
only the throwing and vaulting of the flags is the most beautiful
embassy that the city of the “Greats” could ever have.
They’re this privilege: the FLAG-WAVERS.”
Fair Play Ambassadors July 12, 2002
The Group of Flag-wavers is an independent organization created as
representative of the “Giostra del Saracino”, a bi-annual medieval
joust the group contributes to. Some standard bearers, with the
colors of the Family Knights and the Quarters, clever at “handling
flags”, took part in the cortege of ancient jousts in the Middle
Ages. Jousts were disputed throughout a long period, as documented
in many medieval texts, and a modern version of the event originated
at the beginning of last century, as an evidence of the Aretine love
for historical customs and roots.
In 1960, on the occasion of an “Italian
happening” in Liverpool
(UK), the local tourist board sent a delegation of the Saracen
joust chosen among the flag-wavers of the four quarters. The
success they achieved was a decisive factor for the institution of
an independent group of flag-wavers oriented to the promotion of the
historical and folk traditions of the territory
New costumes were sewed drawing inspiration from Piero della Francesca's paintings and using the colors and heraldry of
the Aretine districts. Unlike many imitations, the Group mirrors the
authentic history and tradition of Arezzo, while the vast repertoire
of exercises, widened and improved in time, has reached a rare level
of accuracy.
The striking choreographies of the 60’s
resulted from strict historical researches on texts of the 16th century: Vittorio Dini, first technical manager of the group, and
his successor Pasquale Livi, current supervisor, conceived new
figures to exalt contents and language. Gestures and figures, in
fact, have no meaning if cleverness doesn’t match with symbolic and
evocative actions. In the early 60’s the so-called "Schermaglia" (Skirmish) was thus conceived, to symbolize the eternal
struggle between good and evil, and it is still in the repertoire of
the group.
Courtesy of Associazione Sbandieratori di Arezzo
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