As we said in the previous post, after the visit to the lakes with Montse and Enrique, we went to Bormio where Tom was going to photograph the Easter celebration called Pasquali. The truth is that what started as a job ended up being one of the best experiences so far.

The town, in the middle of the privileged environment of the Alps, is wonderful. But what makes moments remain engraved in our memory are the people. In this case, Consuelo and Claudio win the prize. Consuelo was a great hostess and made it possible for Tom to discover firsthand the process of preparing the event and the people who put their souls into it. And Claudio saved our lives (perhaps literally…) because we arrived in Bormio with a fault with the brakes of our motorhome and he did everything possible to solve the problem. Not only did he search all over Italy to see if he could get the piece we needed, but he also let us stay on his garage forecourt during our entire stay (which ended up being 10 days), worked at night, in the rain and he even told us anecdotes about his life (in Italian, of course..). In the end, he could not get the required piece but he did an “emergency” fix that has taken us to Slovenia for the time being. We hope to find the final solution in Germany in the coming weeks. For all this, we want to take the opportunity to thank, once again, Consuelo and Claudio for all their collaboration and hard work.

As for Pasquali, which is what initially took us to Bormio, we must say that we were pleasantly surprised. Everyone, from young to old, are completely involved in this event. It is celebrated on Easter Sunday and consists of a procession of floats with representations of religious themes made by hand by the participants, mainly using wood but also incorporating other elements such as iron and flowers.

Each Pasquali is made by a different group of people and at the end of the procession a jury determines who the winners are. Each team consists of men, who are usually the ones who carry the floats, and also women and children who accompany them during the procession carrying gifts (which they themselves have prepared) to distribute later to the spectators.

Explained that way it might seem that it is another Easter procession like the ones we are used to seeing in Spain, for example. But the reality is that this is not the case, the floats, the traditional costumes of the participants and the charm of the surroundings give it a unique and special character. In addition, the fact that the floats are made entirely by the participants of each group, makes them feel very proud and also gives them an added value.