ABRUZZO, Italy Farchie

An old man comes up to me, he looks at me, smiles  and welcome me giving me a glass of wine, "Welcome to Fara Miss , Farchie’s village, this is the Garden district and I am the head of the  farchia". He is Antonio, called Baffettino, and is the eldest of the district.

Here we are in Fara Filiorum Petri, a village located in the heart of  Abruzzo, central region of Italy. The story says that back in 1799, during the French invasion, Saint Anthony transformed in general has turned the wood surrounding the village in fire soldiers,thus protecting the country from invaders.

Baffettino, as he continues his tale, proudly shows the “Farchia”.
It is a construction made of cylindrical bundles of reeds along the narrow ties made of willow branches . In the internal part there is the soul (which is a smaller farchia), this is then covered with the other pipes so as to form the body.

Antonio tells me that this is a long process, from the harvesting of reeds until the burning, it commits the men in every district throughout the year.

Around me there's a woman on the move. Her name is Angela, a tireless and generous person, with the help of his daughters and the women of the neighborhood is able to organize lunches and dinners for hundreds of people. Today they eat “cotica e fagioli”

Fabio takes me by the arm and invited me lunch there with them, but above all it shows me a taste of the feast of Farchie. With a group of men playing and singing  songs typical of the village.

The wine accompanies every moment of this ritual and once finished lunch people rest in front of a huge bonfire.

Today, January 14th there are only a couple of ties to be made and farchia is completed.

The 15th will be devoted to singing and dancing and to visit the other 14 districts.

The evening wine flows freely, dances and songs lighten the hearts of men, thrilled by what awaits them tomorrow.

The farchiaioli (men who built the farchia) have a very important task, they must bring farchia to shoulder up to the square in front of the cemetery.

On the morning of 16th  agitation is in the air, the joy the thrill of the night before turned into tension and agitation.
Finally at three  the men load the farchia shoulders, the women’s cries of incitement accompany men moving all the way.

When Farchies arrive at their destination, in the space in front of the cemetery,  they are showed to foreigners in all its glory and pride.

The howl of the first head farchia cuts the air and the time stops.

Thousands of eyes watching the farchiaroli admire them raise their obelisks of reeds. And 'the apotheosis of beauty and virility, the highest representation of the soul of the place in all its sacredness. One after another are light up, followed by applause. I look admired this spectacle of light and sound. The picturesillustrate that this village still has a human face, a dignity strongly linked to the values ​​of the ancestral land of the fathers.