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Saturday, July 5, 2008

Carnival Celebrated With Blood, Mud & Glitter

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Carnival Celebrated With Blood, Mud & Glitter

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Ivrea, Italy, February 3, 2008—A masked reveler is hit in the head during the battaglia delle arance—or orange fight—in the medieval Italian town of Ivrea.

The three-day pre-Lent "battle" was reportedly born in the 19th century, when a feudal lord gave beans to the poor, who threw the food on the street in disrespect. Over time the beans were traded for oranges.

Today two costumed teams—one in wagons (posing as the lord's guards) and the other on foot (the great unwashed)—stage an epic food fight in Ivrea's piazzas each year during Carnival.

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—Photograph by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters