In 2001 the Liguria da Scoprire association organizes a cultural historical reconstruction in the medieval castle in Andora.
The walk-ons belonged to one of the more prepared and intransigent international groups of historical reconstruction, the Compagnia di San Giorgio.
From all over Europe, the "soldiers of San Giorgio" volunteers were Swedes, Germans, British, Swiss, French, shared a passion for medieval history and customs.
"Accuracy hundred percent" is the goal of the Society; no object younger than fifteenth century allowed inside the camp: everything, from clothes to everyday objects, from weapons to food, must be consistent with the historical period represented.
For 72 consecutive hours, a few dozen people (including many women and families with children) back to the historical reality of six centuries ago. It was possible to experience the thrill of exploring a "real" military camp in 1470, and assist in realistic scenes of everyday life: construction of tents, archery and crossbow exercises, food preparation, the training in the use of swords, halberds and artillery ... with the risk of being in the middle of a combat unexpected!
The weapons master to this reconstructions was nothing less than the one who took charge of its set design for the film 'The Lord of the Rings'. I remember with affection him and some other soldiers, who trained with real, sharp swords, in the courtyard of the castle. During training it was impossible to avoid getting a few little cut, that they, in perfect medieval reconstruction, bandaged it with linen bandages.
Aware of the success of the first edition of Big Brother, the organizers demanded my skills to put online the event.
There were many problems to solve.
The cameras were to be as invisible as possible, not to interfere with the structure and with the purpose of the event. They were used appropriately modified wireless cameras, equipped with self-built micro directional antennas and battery powered.
Inside the bell tower, well hidden from the eyes of visitors, it was set up a computer center, which it acquired through an antenna, which is also well-hidden, the images of the three cameras.
A computer acquired images and published in real time on the event website.
In those years, the Internet connectivity was much less widespread and efficient than that to which we are accustomed today.
To get access to the Internet in the area of the Andora castel, it was necessary to ask Telecom to supply a specially dedicated ISDN line for the event duration.
Given the limited bandwidth available, it was not possible to show directly online movie streaming, but we had to settle for a sequence of photos, interspersed among them a few seconds.
The event was a success, so much si is repeated two years later, always using the same way but adding a fourth camera.
Unfortunately, the event was proposed only twice.
Few are the historical memories remaining of this beautiful reconstruction, and still little information online can be found here, here and here.