The Italian Art of Flag Throwing

• Photographer
  Anna Hartman Ksycinska
• Technical Info
  Camera-leica Q2
• Photo Date
  07 July 2024

The essential part of traditional festivals in Italy is a competition of flag throwing,performed by groups of “sbandieratori “. This art dates to medieval battles,where the main figure on the battlefield was the flag bearer,who’s duty was to defend the flag and in danger throw it to the hands of another fighter. Over the years, throwing the flag became a ceremonial art form and more than 80 Italian towns have their own group in medieval or renaissance costumes,with unique flags. Sbandieratori train from childhood to perfect acrobatic skills and are always accompanied by their own orchestras.

Anna Hartman-Ksycinska is a Polish photographer based in Rzeszow, Poland. She is a medical doctor, pediatrician and anesthesiologist and a member of Polish Women Photographers Club. Her photographs were presented at the individual and group exhibitions in Poland, Hungary, Spain, UAE, Italy and on-line (VASA, ZEKE, The Egde of Humanity, FK Magazine). As a photographer she is mainly focused on social issues. She often tries to investigate and depict social injustice and try to look through the eyes of those who lack social acceptance or struggle for establishing their place in society.