Annual blessing of the animals
A crisp January morning on the Fosso in Barga and the sound of horses hooves clattering on the tarmac and barking dogs fill the air. It is the annual animal blessing from Don Piero. This year 17 horses and many dogs where lined up on the Fosso to receive their blessing for 2005. This Christian ceremony may appear strange to some people who maybe think that the whole idea of animals having a spirit, an anima, and therefore needing or benefiting from a blessing is something of an anathema but there is a long tradition of priests blessing not just animals but also inanimate objects, such as new completed buildings, boats being launched and even Harley Davidson choppers ... anybody here remember this event held every year further up the mountain at San Pelligrino ìn Alpe ? Don Giovanni stands on the back of a"chopped"Harley Davidson and rides along blessing the assembled motorbikes and their riders Don Piero has been a columnist for barganews since 2001 ... there was a break in his articles due to technical problems as lighting kept removing his interent access, but he is back once again ..his articles can be read here
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