Our village challenge - learn to sleep in the day and party at night!

The main square starts to liven up at about 9pm.

So the annual 'festa' in Colmurano, the village where we rent a house while we have guests in our own place, has begun.


Called "Pizzagra" locally (on account of the fact that the street food is - yes you guessed it - pizza),  "Artistrada" officially (roughly translated meaning "Art in the Street") and "The International Buskers' Festival" if you want to be really posh, it's actually a brilliant mix of world music and circus which sees the streets of this tiny hilltop village heaving with people from tiny babies to ninety-something year old neighbours.

Even the babies stay out all night!

For four whole days it starts at around 9 at night - earlier if you don't want to have to stand in a massive queue waiting for your pizza - and goes on till everyone goes home at around 4am.


The house we rent is right opposite the main square - great for knowing when everything is starting, not so great of you want to get to sleep before 4am.

Yes - it's a pint of wine. 

What do I like best about it? The immense energy of everyone there (except for me of course - two nights in and I'm fading); the incredibly creative musical talent on show; the circus acts and the looks on the kids' faces watching; the food (naturally); the fact that the wine comes in pint glasses (I kid you not); and maybe most of all this year, the fact that while wandering around loads of local Italian people are coming over for a chat.

A pipe band, Italian style.

And the fact that no matter where you wander in the village you come across music.


The tiny little square which normally has not much other life than the local cat is packed with people watching an Italian pipe band; the staid old town hall has a trapeze act going on in front;  the church in the main square is faced by our friend Carmela's bar doing a bomb selling those pints of wine ...


So.  Off to bed now, in preparation for tonight's fun.  Saturday night - traditionally the most lively of them all.  How can a fifty-something year old possibly stay awake till - probably tonight - 7am?  I'll let you know tomorrow.  I'll definitely be giving it a go.

World music - Senegalese style.