Italy’s Thousand Years of Tournaments – Enrico Rainero
Authors: Enrico Rainero, Patricia Schults
Publisher Studio Enrico Rainero
Year of publication 1990
– English and Italian bilingual edition
Published in occasion of the World Cup Italia ’90 – the international football world championship tournament
Feasts are hold to celebrate or give thanks for something, to bring good luck but, above all, to give people a chance to get together.
In the old farming communities feast days meant an occasion for meeting where marriages could be arranged and agricultural products bartered.
At all times and in all societies, feasts were a moment for a pause in hostilities or the rivaltries for the conquest or defense of the territory.
That is why they can be considered the symbol and bearer of peace, even though they incorporate some form of competitive activity, such as tourneys, jousts and athletic challenges.
As a result markets gradually developed around them. The merchandise could be compared at the same time as the ability of the competing champions.
Prosperity grew in times of peace and. With it, the desire to widen personal horizons, to get to know new realities, new cultures, new landscapes, and share the artistic spirit and creativity of other civilizations.
The square, the field, the lagoon and the sea became mirrors of the world reflecting the history and the culture of the country, thus encouraging an exchange of different histories and cultures.
The original rivalries were transformed into competitive spirit where collective growth became the primary objective of knowledge and communication.
