Barrel rolling at the Bravio delle Botti

So, what is this all about you will probably think?
Well, here in Montepulciano they keep themselves in shape in a very unusually way.
They distress after work pushing an enormous empty wine barrel ,up and down the hill.
It's an efficient way to reduce body fat after the traditional Italian Sunday lunch.
Ha!

Seriously, a centuries-old race takes place in the tiny village's stone streets on the last Sunday in August each year, with eight teams competing to roll enormous empty wine barrels along the course in the quickest time possible.
Each barrel is rolled by two 'springitori' (barrel rollers), representing a different district of the village.
The event begins with hundreds of villagers and tourists taking part in a traditional parade in the late afternoon.
Then, at seven in the evening the village's bell tolls, and the springitori begin rolling the barrels along the 1,800 metre course. The race takes about ten minutes to complete.
They compete for a palio - the painted silk banner traditionally awarded to Tuscan sporting victors - etched with an image of San Giovanni Decollato, the patron saint of Montepulciano.
The commemorative race has been held over the same course for six centuries. Though its exact roots are unclear, it certainly predates 1373, in which a whole chapter of the statute published that year was dedicated to the proper running of the palio.

This morning down our road this young men was training himself for the next August completion.


barrel roling race