Ivrea is a small town, about 40 minutes north of
Turin, Italy. It isn’t a very animated settlement, but once a year, during the
Orange Battle Carnival, Ivrea comes to life. the battle is an allegoric representation of the medieval insurrection of 1194, against the
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick of Swabia. Masked, armored men throw oranges at the crowd who in turn throw them back at them, until the streets are covered by a carpet of squashed oranges that is sometimes even 30 cm thick…
As much fun as I’m sure this carnival is I have to wonder if those oranges, like the bananas in the
banana wall, would have been more appreciated by some starving children in a third world country. But hey, that’s just me…
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