Palio of the Archers © Creative Commons

 

This two-part event takes places in towns 100km (62 miles) apart. Crossbows are the weapons of choice of the men of Gubbio and Sansepolcro - they have been since the Middle Ages when competitions were first held to practice the civil defence of the towns. In May, Gubbio hosts the competition and in September it is the turn of Sansepulcro. The format is similar in both cases. In the morning, a herald reads out the challenge proclamation to the visiting rivals. In the afternoon, there is a ceremony blessing the crossbows which is followed by a flag waving and throwing extravaganza - a continuous blur of colour - by the brotherhood of flag bearers, dressed in medieval costume. Finally, at the end of the day comes the target shooting competition using crossbows of various size and style. The earliest documented meeting between the two towns was 1619.

Times
Daytime.