• A smiling woman dressed as a medieval peasant costume is playing with her small child to distract her from the noise. Behind them an older woman is looking at them, or at the camera, with a slight frown.
  • Men dressed in medieval garb are huddling against the scenery of amedieval town. A single kid is reaching otu towards the table in front, probably trying to get some food.
  • A man seen from the back, dressed like a medieval pilgrim and holding a bifurcated walking stick
  • A man in medieval garb is playing with a few kids. The head of an alarmed-looking goose sticks out in front of the picture.
  • A group of men and women dressed in medieval garb are looking tiredly ahead
  • A woman in medieval garb is dyeing cloth in a pot. Behind her are a few kids, one of whom is eating an apple.
  • A woman in medieval gars is wheeling a cartwheel
  • A woman in medieval garb is carrying a bunch of flowers. she is looking to the lower right, seemingly annoyed at what she's seeing.
  • A group of women in medieval garb are gossiping with each other. In the background are two goard herders, by a piece of scenery that looks like a wall with an iron gate.

Every year the city of Quattro Castella in Italy reenacts with a great parade the day that Matilde di Canossa was crowned vice queen of Italy by Henry V in 1111. In between the horse parade and the crowning and the show of the flag throwers, local residents and chilren dressed as medieval peasants roamed the arena reenacting ancient jobs, tending to livestock, or just pretending to live a normal day in the village. I found them far more interesting to document than the big show because of how natural they were, especially as the day wore on and they started to get bored of performing the same role over and over.

Below are two “outtakes” that I didn’t include in the main gallery because they portray clearly modern elements, even though I still love the pictures themselves.

A woman in medieval garb and carrying a bunch of flowers in her hands is talking to a camerawoman. The medieval woman is looking to the side, distracted, while the camerawoman is gesticulating.
Two men are seen from behind walking in opposite directions. One is dressed in medieval garb and has a hump and a crooked walking stick, while the other is in shirt and slacks and is going into a church.