«La Sortija de Barcelona»

ARMANGUE HERRERO, JOAN

2010-01-01

---

Abstract

The journal La Llumanera de Nova York informed its readers in April 1875, through a letter signed by the new correspondent in Barcelona, Serafí Pitarra, that «ara no’s fa surtija per Sant Cristófol» in Barcelona. The author did not interpret this development as a victory of the modern city progress, but precisely as a shortcoming. The «sortija» was of an equestrian skill game whose objective was hitting a ring with a stick, a fork, a spear, a sword ... In this article we reconstruct the history of this game in the Catalan Countries, all the while referring to the island of Sardinia, where has survived until today