Autumn in Italy means many opportunities for festivals: truffle festivals, wine festivals, and as in our case….a chestnut festival in the lakeside town of Bracciano (just about 1 hour outside of Rome in the countryside). This is how I came to meet the talented Valerio Mauro who enchanted everyone wit his Celtic Harp.
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Cultural and historical festivals in Italy celebrate ancient traditions, change of seasons, harvest times, and they honor significant holidays. Often times the Medieval and Renaissance eras dominate the theme, and enhanced with historical music, reenactments and games of those eras.
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Food is never far away when it comes to many festivals, and on a sunny Sunday in early November, the chestnut – enjoyed across Italy roasted and sold in paper cones – held the honor of this festival. In the center of the main square next to the famous Odescalchi Castle (if you’re not familiar with it, it’s where Tom Cruise got married), a fire pit was set up on which chestnuts were roasted in the traditional way.
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Music always sets the tone, and thankfully Italians hold close their ancient traditions that also includes music. Local music groups, as well as solo musicians, take us on musical journeys back in time through their period music and authentic instruments of ancient Medieval and Renaissance eras.
Such was the case in the lakeside town of Bracciano.
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After a spectacular show of skill, dexterity and harmony by a group of Sbandieratori of Soriano del Cimino, a soft evocative sound of a harp began to filter through the noise and chatter of the busy square, and the lovely medieval melody drew me to it immediately. I followed it, and discovered a thick group of listeners already gathered around – the music was easier to hear, but difficult to see the instrument and the talented musician playing it.
Once finished, the crowd dispersed and some stayed behind to purchase his CD’s. That’s when I met Valerio Mauro, the talented musician whose celtic harp evokes such soothing melodies.
I purchased his “Suggestioni di Arpa Celtica” CD because it contained medieval style music (including the song in this video: “Miss McDermott / Or the Princess Royal”)
I asked Valerio if I could video tape a bit of his music so I can share them my Instagram and Momentage sites, and he happily agreed.
As it turned out, I only had my iPhone use to use since the battery of my large camera had finished…. but none-the-less I was excited to capture a few notes on my iPhone and share them with my viewers later.
I added other clips to this video that were also filmed with my iPhone to showcase some of the events that took place during this festival in Bracciano.
In Italy, always have a camera (with extra batteries!!) or a fully charged smartphone with you – you never know when you stumble upon something as magnificent as a medieval festival and you want to capture and share wonderful events that take place!
*** To find out more about Valerio Mauro, visit his website at: www.LaMusicaidValerioMauro.it.
*** Friend Valerio Mauro on Face Book (he speaks some English 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/valerio.mauro.562
*** And you can buy his amazing CD “Suggestione di Arpa Celtica“ (Yes, I’m listening it to it as I’m typing this blog, and I would not recommended if it was not fabulous) on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/it/album/suggestioni-di-arpa-celtica/id460029567?l=en
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