The orange battle

Yesterday was a true adventure.

My pupils at schools have told me about a place about an hour from Turin which is famous for its orange battle. It is held only once per year (during the carnival) and so I’ve found it a must to go ;)
Together with 2 friends we went in search of new experience. The place is called Ivrea and it can easily be reached by train. The whole experience itself has really been something special. Before going there, people had warned me about it, saying it might even be dangerous (you can get hit by an orange). I can see what they meant ;) However, there are two ways of how to protect yourself. First- wear something red (this is a sign you’re a friend and not an enemy ;) and second, do not stand in “the ring”, but rather find a safe place behind the net. This is what we’ve done and it sure proved to be a good technique. We found a pleasant spot with a good view over the battlefield and waited impatiently for the battle to start.



Main weapon in this “war” are- oranges. Loads and loads of oranges, which you throw at the opponents. For those who’d like to learn more, I’m adding a bit more information (taken from the official webpage- http://news.carnevalediivrea.it/).

Around the thirties and sixties of last century, girls started to throw some oranges from their balconies onto the parade carriages together with confetti, lupins and flowers. The targets of these were the boys by whom the girls wanted to be noticed. From the carriages the boys started to answer in kind and little by little, the gesture of homage became first a duel and then a real fight between the throwers on the balconies and those in the streets. Only after the Second World War did the battle become the present contest following fixed rules.
Today the contest is still enacted in the main squares of the town where teams in carriages (symbolising the tyrant’s guards) battle against the orange thrower teams on foot (the rebellious commoners) which consist of hundreds of throwers.



The way back was no less exciting. There was one particular reason for this; instead of returning to Turin, we took the wrong train and ended up in Aosta which is found close to the French border.. Yeah, these things happen ;) But at the end, things turned to our benefit; a kind employer offered us a free train ride back to Turin an hour later. Which meant we had exactly an hour to discover the city. I was trully amazed!



And so instead of one trip, we had two. I guess it was a sign I should get lost more often ;)

For me, this assistantship has been much more than just teaching abroad. It is a way of getting to know one’s culture, language and habits in depth. And through all this, you get to understand the most important- yourself. That’s why I would really recommend all of those who are still thinking of whether to go or not, to just do it and apply for Comenius Assistansthip. And then let the nature do the rest ;)