The art of Sbandieri (flag throwing) is hardly unique to Pienza. In fact, the picture at the left was taken in Asti at their annual Palio in 2016.
The evolution of Sbandieratori performances is a fascinating page out of history.
It starts during the Middle Ages, where local nobles were obliged to fight for their overlords, and bring a handful of peasant foot soldiers along with them.
The foot soldiers were a rag-tag bunch, fighting with what clothes and weapons they could bring from home.
Since there were no uniforms and virtually no military training, battles were often a confusing melee, where it was difficult to tell one's fellow-soldiers from the enemy. A noble, or more likely one of his pages, would carry a banner, and the peseants were told to "rally round the flag" (Yes, this is where the childrens' game came from) when it came time to attack or retreat. That worked, so long as the enemy didn't "capture the flag" (This one too) and wave it to lure a noble's foot-soldiers into slaughter.
So the armies quickly developed flag-waving "codes." Three waves back and forth or pinwheeling the flag was legit. Anything else was a "false flag," an attempt to entice the peasants into a bloodbath.
(A hint here: once the video starts, click on the box in the lower right corner of the video, you'll get a full screen view.)
Over time, the flag "codes" became more complex.
Army units competed with one another to see who could put on the more elaborate display.
Eventually, armies became more professional, issuing uniforms and providing better training. The sbandieratori became obsolete for the military, but not for the people. Virtuoso performances developed.
In cities bigger than Pienza, the competition among Sbandieratori can be intense...as was the case in Asti...
The Sbandieratori start young.
As as you'll see from this final video clip, it takes years of training to get it right...
