The last day of the 2-week Carnevale period (literally, 'farewell to meat' before the 40 days of Lent) brings something very specific and unusual to Marsciano - Il Rogo di Sansimino.
Intrigued by the poster, we headed into town, and as we were a little bit early, we heard some drumming and followed it round to the back door of the main church S. Giovanni - to see the preparations by the Confraternity..
We then walked, somewhat unsure of what is going to happen, to the church of San Francesco, where we had our first glimpse of the 12ft high straw statue of Sansimino (not Saint Simino, to be clear!), on a wheeled cart. Odd, we thought!
This year he was decorated with the words of the Eurovision hopefuls Bugo and Morgan, who stormed off the San Remo stage in February (so we are smack up to date here!) with harsh words to each other such as Ingratitude, Arrogance, Ugly..which you can see on his shirt.
And then we waited for the dusk to fall..we heard first the beating drums, and then the procession arrived, the group in white hoods ('incappuciati') and Death in black (with scythe, of course..)
They drag Sansimino out from the church and down to the main square, in front of the Teatro Concordia - which seems like an appropriate setting for the 'mock trial' - his crimes are read out in a small comic play - this time with a side theme with someone representing the virus as well, extremely relevant right now...(this all makes more sense when you read the history below..)
and of course the judge sentences Sansimino to death by burning as always - he's then dragged up the street to the highly inappropriately named Piazza Karl Marx, where, after a lot of lynch-mob-style chanting, he is duly set alight to beating drums.
and within 10 mins he is a flaming mess..and it's all over for another year!
Pausing only to note the lack of hi-viz jackets, clipboards or even the fire brigade (just imagine if this happened in your town..?) we were left thinking..undeniably a little bit KKK-y...
I then took some time to discover the history of this festival - and then it all makes sense..sort of!
This from the association's website - with a few adjustments by me of the somewhat crazy translation..
"The Carnival in Marsciano has a very specific connotation: it is the inevitable appointment with the stake of Sansimino, a re-enactment that is lost in the mists of time with which the carnival festivals of Marsciano close.
Sansimino is a fantastic and evocative character, who represents all the evils of society and our time. Burning the puppet of Sansimino therefore means chasing away all the evils that afflict us and is a hope for better times. The tradition of burning straw puppets or other materials in particular periods of the year, especially between the end of winter and the beginning of spring, is widespread in different areas of Italy and evokes the same meanings.
Carrying Sansimino around the village and then in front of the judges in the square are the hooded men dressed in white (except the "executioner", strictly in black), who with lit torches and drums, walk the streets of the village with the cry of "... trecè, quattrocè, 'na gallina and' ngallinaccio ... ". Sansimino then arrives in the central square to be convicted and burned.
The representation stems from a historical fact dated 1643, the year of the break between the Papal States and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which caused the invasion of ecclesiastical possessions by the Florentines. While one contingent headed for Rome, another entered Chiusi and, going down along the (river) Nestor, camped under the walls of Marsciano to conquer and besiege the castle. Tradition has it that the frightened people of Marsciano dressed in white and with torches in hand ran all night along the walls of the castle to make believe they were the ghosts of the souls of Purgatory screaming: “Trecé! Quattrocé! ‘Na gallina e‘ n gallinaccio! ", As if to say" We are many and we have enough food ". A second version of the story tells that the inhabitants of Marsciano showed up on the walls to make believe that the castle was affected by an epidemic of plague, so as to discourage the Tuscans from entering, insinuating their fear of contagion. In one way or another, the following morning the Tuscan army ran away and the hooded people gave birth to the Compagnia del Purgatorio and the Lordship of Carnival."
and within 10 mins he is a flaming mess..and it's all over for another year!
Pausing only to note the lack of hi-viz jackets, clipboards or even the fire brigade (just imagine if this happened in your town..?) we were left thinking..undeniably a little bit KKK-y...
I then took some time to discover the history of this festival - and then it all makes sense..sort of!
This from the association's website - with a few adjustments by me of the somewhat crazy translation..
"The Carnival in Marsciano has a very specific connotation: it is the inevitable appointment with the stake of Sansimino, a re-enactment that is lost in the mists of time with which the carnival festivals of Marsciano close.
Sansimino is a fantastic and evocative character, who represents all the evils of society and our time. Burning the puppet of Sansimino therefore means chasing away all the evils that afflict us and is a hope for better times. The tradition of burning straw puppets or other materials in particular periods of the year, especially between the end of winter and the beginning of spring, is widespread in different areas of Italy and evokes the same meanings.
Carrying Sansimino around the village and then in front of the judges in the square are the hooded men dressed in white (except the "executioner", strictly in black), who with lit torches and drums, walk the streets of the village with the cry of "... trecè, quattrocè, 'na gallina and' ngallinaccio ... ". Sansimino then arrives in the central square to be convicted and burned.
The representation stems from a historical fact dated 1643, the year of the break between the Papal States and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which caused the invasion of ecclesiastical possessions by the Florentines. While one contingent headed for Rome, another entered Chiusi and, going down along the (river) Nestor, camped under the walls of Marsciano to conquer and besiege the castle. Tradition has it that the frightened people of Marsciano dressed in white and with torches in hand ran all night along the walls of the castle to make believe they were the ghosts of the souls of Purgatory screaming: “Trecé! Quattrocé! ‘Na gallina e‘ n gallinaccio! ", As if to say" We are many and we have enough food ". A second version of the story tells that the inhabitants of Marsciano showed up on the walls to make believe that the castle was affected by an epidemic of plague, so as to discourage the Tuscans from entering, insinuating their fear of contagion. In one way or another, the following morning the Tuscan army ran away and the hooded people gave birth to the Compagnia del Purgatorio and the Lordship of Carnival."
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