Helena Falabino

The Baìo di Sampeyre is a traditional festivity of the Varaita valley, in the western Alps in Piedmont, Northern Italy. Despite being born and raised in Piedmont I had never heard of it. The Baìo is celebrated every five years during carnival and it's the expression of an ancient ritual that celebrates the banishment of the Saracens that in the XI century plundered the populations of these alpine valleys. There are four different Baìo in the village of Sampeyre, which are organized in different parades that walk through the valley and meet in the central square, in order to perform traditional dances and re-enact those events. Every Baìo is made of characters that play very definite roles acted by the inhabitants of Sampeyre, and every role is named in the local dialect: Cavalìe, the Knight, Tambourin, the drummer, Sapeur, the woodsman, Escarlinìe, member of the infantry, Tenenti, the lieutenants, Uzouardt, the body guard, Sounadour, the musician, Espous, the bride and groom, Serazine, the little girls, Lou Vièi e la Vièio, the old couple, Grec, the greeks (that were the saracens' prisoners) and many more. Every costume is finely decorated with bindels, colourful silk bands, showing different colours for each Baìo. These tradition is so old that dates back to the times in which women weren't allowed to perform in public: therefore, even the female characters such as the little girls, the bride and the old woman, are still acted by men and young boys. According to my researches, the costumes have always been adapted to the age in which the Baìo was performed until the XIX century, which explains why the costumes don't resemble medieval uniforms and clothes.

In this project I wanted to represent in an archival form some of the characters and costumes of the Baìo, leaving aside the aspect of the parade. I reckon that the costumes and their colours, are the tangible expression of this community's dedication to keeping alive a tradition that involves many different generations and families, and it plays a fundamental role in the social life of the village of Sampeyre. I think that providing a contemporary imagery of ancient traditions that are still alive, can trigger a reflection on one's own sense of identity and belonging to a specific community. Such instances can change and vary very quickly within self perception, especially in a time of strong globalization and social and economic change.