In Italy, surprisingly, Good Friday is not a holiday, but business as usual. Easter Sunday (Pasqua) and Monday are the big days with Easter Monday (Pasquetta – “little Easter”) being the holiday. This is good to keep in mind if you’re in Italy for Easter as grocery stores are closed Easter Monday. This also means that grocery stores are packed on Friday and Saturday of the Easter weekend.
So what to do with a day off? In the town of Panicale, Umbria, they spend their afternoon off by throwing some cheese around town. Panicale is a comune in the Province of Perugia, in the region of Umbria. The comune of Panicale is made up of 11 frazioni (villages) with a total population of fewer than 5,700 people. Panicale itself is a small medieval hilltop town, founded by the Etruscans, which overlooks the southern side of Lago Trasimeno. The views of the lake from the town are stunning.
On Pasquetta, the town gets taken over for the “gioco del formaggio” or “ruzzola” or “ruzzolone” as it is also known. Please note that, if you wish to go, the game is only played if the weather is cooperating. The game is called on account of rain.
Ruzzolone is thought to have played by the ancient Etruscans. There is a depiction of the sport in the Tomb of the Olympics in the necropolis of Monterozzi in Tarquinia (in the Lazio region). The first written appearance of ruzzolone, or “giocare ad ruellas” as it was known in written documents, was in 1277. Not surprisingly, like so many other games, it was at one time forbidden in the same manner as dice games. The game seemed to be widely played in the 19th century. Today, it is a traditional sport regulated and protected by the Italian Federation of Traditional Sports and Games and by the Association of European Games and of Traditional Sports! Other traditional sports include Bocce (Bocci) and Bolo Andaluz (Andulusian bowling), Tiro alla Fune (Tug of War), Gioco alla Rana (Game of Frog), Ferro di Cavallo (Horseshoes) and Ballestra (Crossbow), to name a few.
There are four teams of two players (the “giocatori”). The game is played by the first player of each team wrapping a 2-meter long strap around a 4 kg (9lb) wheel of cheese, usually pecorino, the typical cheese of the region. At the end of the strap is a wooden-handled loop which the player keeps around his hand as he releases the cheese wheel. [Please note that I use masculine pronouns here because I have only seen the game played by male contestants.] The wheel then runs (hopefully) down the town roads or paths, called “treppi”, before the cheese falls and comes to rest (called “grippi”). Once the cheese has landed, the spot is marked with chalk. This becomes the start location for the second team member’s shot. The game is “alternate shot” and you have to play the cheese where it lands. There may or may not be poles (“pegs”) placed strategically at curves. If a player’s throw leaves the path and the cheese continues beyond the out of bounds stakes (the “pickets”), the player will have to go back to the original shot location and shoot from there, being charged a turn. The winning team is the group that manages to complete the course in the fewest possible throws.
After the game is finished, there is music playing in the square. Children receive chocolates and the winner team is presented with their prize. What does the winning team win? The cheese, of course, well-travelled but still delicious!
