Thursday, September 10, 2009
Siena is an old city, rich in history and deeply proud of its culture. It is easy for an outsider to misinterpret such pride as arrogance or antagonism while in reality it is just the way in which they ensure the preservation of their traditions. As the roommate of a girl with family in Siena, I have been fortunate enough to get a glimpse into the world of contradas, the unbelievably close-knit communities that mark themselves with flags and scarves decorated in their colors and marked with their particular animal.
Daniela’s family is a part of the “Aquila” (eagle) contrada and on Thursday night, we walked to their apartment to join them in one of the many celebrations being held this week. While some dinners are only for members of the Aquila contrada, this dinner was open to invited guests. Long rows of tables lined the square and adults filled out cards marking the meats, vegetables, and desserts they wanted to eat. Younger members of the contrada cooked unbelievable amounts of food which we consumed in even more astonishing quantities. Bread, prosciutto, and cheeses were followed by beans and breadsticks and nuts which were followed by more meat than I have consumed in the past three years (sausage, ribs, pork…), and all this was finally followed by cakes, pastries, and traditional Sienese goodies. Wine (literally) flowed more freely than water and everyone was incredibly welcoming. At the end of the night, when the food is finally cleared, the younger members of the contrada have a discoteca. Unfortunately, my roommates and I had an early morning and when we realized that the dancing wouldn’t begin until at least 1am, we said goodnight to our new Italian friends and headed home. Our only consolation was that we had to wake up to catch our train to Venice on Friday. Viva aquila!
Siena is an old city, rich in history and deeply proud of its culture. It is easy for an outsider to misinterpret such pride as arrogance or antagonism while in reality it is just the way in which they ensure the preservation of their traditions. As the roommate of a girl with family in Siena, I have been fortunate enough to get a glimpse into the world of contradas, the unbelievably close-knit communities that mark themselves with flags and scarves decorated in their colors and marked with their particular animal.
Daniela’s family is a part of the “Aquila” (eagle) contrada and on Thursday night, we walked to their apartment to join them in one of the many celebrations being held this week. While some dinners are only for members of the Aquila contrada, this dinner was open to invited guests. Long rows of tables lined the square and adults filled out cards marking the meats, vegetables, and desserts they wanted to eat. Younger members of the contrada cooked unbelievable amounts of food which we consumed in even more astonishing quantities. Bread, prosciutto, and cheeses were followed by beans and breadsticks and nuts which were followed by more meat than I have consumed in the past three years (sausage, ribs, pork…), and all this was finally followed by cakes, pastries, and traditional Sienese goodies. Wine (literally) flowed more freely than water and everyone was incredibly welcoming. At the end of the night, when the food is finally cleared, the younger members of the contrada have a discoteca. Unfortunately, my roommates and I had an early morning and when we realized that the dancing wouldn’t begin until at least 1am, we said goodnight to our new Italian friends and headed home. Our only consolation was that we had to wake up to catch our train to Venice on Friday. Viva aquila!
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