Let’s get the killer shot business out of the way first.
I was on my knees at the entrance to the church of Santa Maria di Recepto waiting patiently for the arrival of the ox. I was feeling proud of my ingenuity. I knew it was going to be difficult to take a really good sharp photograph of the ox on its own, without anything or anybody getting in the way. But I had a plan.
I’d decided on three approaches:
- Follow a really good local photographer as he found ideal vantage points (a little local knowledge goes a long way).
- Escape the crowd and get to the church of Santa Maria di Recepto before everyone else and grab pole position.
- Don’t rely on zooming, use a fast 50mm prime lens and get into the right positions.
Using the 50 mm prime lens on the Canon 400D was going to be a bit of a challenge. It makes it hard to take expansive shots of the crowd and the piazza but I thought t would be ideal for taking a portrait of the ox if I could get up close and personal. I was at the festival two years ago and I had plenty of wider angled shots so I was willing to make this little sacrifice.
It all really well to begin with and to tell the truth I was feeling happy about my approach. I managed to get some sharp photos of the ox and its handlers, I got some crowd pictures as they funnelled through the narrow streets and overall I thought I got better photographs than I did the last time I was at the festival.
But I wanted the killer shot, the crowning glory and I knew where I could get it. I headed for the little church early and got ready. After a while I was joined by other photographers and camera men vying for position as they placed themselves just inside the narrow entrance. It’s a small church, as small as they come, no more than a large room and I believe it is only opened once a year for the feast of San Zopito.
I waited. The crowd swelled outside. I was ready. First I heard the music from the Zampogna, a type of bagpipe being played by “the shepherds” and then came the ox. Mounting the ox far more confidently than I ever would was a young boy, dressed as a girl, with a red flower in his mouth, representing an angel. I rechecked the settings on my camera. I wanted a portrait with a bit of depth so I set the aperture to f4.0. This was going to be great. The face of the ox and its colourful decorations would fill the frame and all distractions behind it would blur into insignificance. I was ready.
The ox approached. Its handlers were preparing for the most significant part of the ritual. The ox must genuflect in front of several churches on its journey through the town. This was a new ox. It had been trained for the procession and it seemed to be tackling the inclines of the narrow streets of Loreto Aprutino with ease.
Click, click, click, I got it! It was over so fast but I was sure I’d taken a great photo. After the ox and the procession moved on from the church I stepped outside and checked the images on my camera’s screen. Not the best way to check the quality of a photo but it can let you know if something went wrong.
Something had gone wrong. The pictures looked blurry. But I had a fast lens with a wide aperture why did this happen? And then I realised that in my excitement of being in the right place at the right time for what was going to be the most wonderful photograph I’d ever taken I had made a basic error. I wanted a sharp close-up of the ox with everything else blurring and what I got was a completely blurred image. Why? Simple really, it was basic camera shake. I never checked the shutter speed required to take the photo. It was slow enough that natural camera shake came into play. If I’d checked properly I’d have increased the ISO or opened the aperture a bit more and all would have been well. Anyone who had a basic point and click camera was likely to have a better photograph than I ended up with. Hey-ho, you live, you try, you learn! It was fun.
I hope to try again next year. 2011 is the three hundredth anniversary festival. Considering the efforts that went into the 299th anniversary I expect the Festa di San Zopito 2011 will be even more spectacular. You’ve got plenty of notice as it’s about 10 months away. Fireworks, traditional music, marching bands and two processions of the ox on consecutive days make the San Zopito weekend very special. Put it in your diary; it takes place on the weekend of Pentecost Sunday which I believe is 11, 12, 13 June (but you should check this).
Where does it happen?
Loreto Aprutino (PE)
Why does this festival happen?
It commemorates a special event that occurred in 1711. The remains of the Christian martyr San Zopito were being transported from the catacombs of San Callisto in Rome. As the procession passed the Collattuccio district of Loreto Aprutino a farmer, Carlo Parlione, did not pay due homage to the Saint and continued to work in the field. His ox however, got down on its knees and genuflected in front of the passing relics recognising the holiness of the Saint. Later when the procession arrived in the village a relative of the farmer suddenly recovered from an illness.
Since then the events have been re-enacted using a trained ox that passes through Loreto Aprutino genuflecting at key churches in its path. On its back is a child with a red carnation in its mouth, (a boy I believe although many references say it’s a girl) dressed in a gold-embroidered white dress, wearing a crown of flowers and holding a small umbrella. The child represents an angel and it is this angel that according to tradition makes the ox kneel down.
When does it happen?
It occurs on the weekend of Pentecost Sunday (Whitsunday). But please note that the date of Pentecost changes each year as it is tied to the date of Easter. For example Pentecost was on 24 May in 2010 but I believe it is on 12 June in 2011.
The Sunday and the Monday are the main days to see the ox and the child. The relics of San Zopito are in procession through the town on Monday the actual feast day of San Zopito.
What happens in Loreto Aprutino as part of the festival?
Well since the 2008 festival was a bit different to the 2010 festival I suspect that what happens varies depending on budget but the 2010 festival included
- the procession of the ox and child through the town in the morning of Pentecost Sunday
- the procession of the ox, the child and the relics of San Zopito in the evening of Monday
- Various bands playing in Piazza Garibaldi on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights
- A cycling race for the San Zopito trophy on Sunday afternoon
- A wonderful fireworks display to close the festival on Monday night
Anything else?
2011 – 1711 = 300!!!
Worth noting 11, 12, 13 June Pentecost 2011 I think.
