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Leg 21.07 – “Is he going to throw me on the ground?!”
The Race has officially crossed the halfway mark as teams open the first clue of this 7th Leg revealing their next destination is Rome, Italy! Teams will be on one of two flights from Muscat via Doha or Cairo arriving at either 7:10am or 7:15am.
Upon arrival in Rome, teams must figure out how to catch a train to Florence. All teams will end up on the same train arriving at 10:30am.
In Florence, teams must travel by public transportation to Piazza di Santa Croce where they will encounter a Duel Duel!
Calcio Fiorentino, also known as calcio storico, is an early form of football created in the Middle Ages in Italy. For this Duel Duel, teams will play a modified version of this violent pre-soccer game. The team that scores the most goals or calcios in five minutes will get the next clue. The last place team will go up against locals for a game before being given the next clue.
That clue points teams to Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze. Here, teams will pick up a replica of the famous statue of David and have him accompany them until further notice.
Teams must now make their way to Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore where they will find the Double U-Turn.
After they’ve checked-in at the U-Turn, teams will encounter the Detour: An Operatic Ear or The Scientific Method.
Opera was invented here in Florence with the premiere of Jacobo Peri’s Dafne in the late 16th century. In An Operatic Ear, teams must head to the historic Teatro della Pergola where they will listen to a sample of ten different operatic pieces. They must then listen to a list of recorded pieces on a Samsung Galaxy Note and using Samsung Galaxy Buds. Teams will need to identify the pieces being performed on stage, in the correct order by title and composer in order to receive the next clue.
In The Scientific Method, teams must correctly assemble a replica of Galileo’s telescope by making the right calculations using only photos and the calculator on a Samsung Galaxy Note. Once the replica is complete, they can receive the next clue.
Teams must now make their way to Piazza della Signoria. Here, teams must find where to deliver David to a friend. What teams won’t know is that friend is actually at the David statue outside Palazzo Vecchio. They will exchange David for their next clue.
Teams must now choose a 2021 Kia Xceed and drive themselves to San Miniato. Here, teams will accompany a truffle hunting dog into the forest until they find one.
They will then take the truffle into town to a marked stall at the annual White Truffle Fair.
Teams must now drive to the city of Pisa and park their 2021 Kia Xceeds by the Piazza dei Cavalieri.
They will then proceed on foot to Piazza dei Miracoli, where they will find the Road Block: Who can you lean on?
The leaning tower of Pisa is world famous. For this Road Block, teams must construct a scale model of the tower using provided pieces. Teams will then have to use a provided formula to calculate the tower’s current lean and then replicate that lean on their scale model by digging into the ground to allow for the correct angle. Once approved, teams will receive the next clue.
This is also the Trigger Point for this Leg of the Race. If any team’s tower collapses exactly five times, the U-Turn or Yield will be activated on the next Leg.
After the Road Block, teams can now make their way on foot to Arena Garibaldi, the Pit Stop for this Leg of the Race.
The first team to do so will win P200,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+.
The last team to check-in here WILL be eliminated.
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“Director’s” Commentary
Finally a TAR visit to Pisa! But of course because of Google scouting, this Leg is split between Florence and Pisa. Even though I think both cities could host a Leg on their own.
Also part of the reason why I split this Leg between the two is to just include the mid-Leg visit to San Miniato. We’ll get to that in a bit. Let’s start at the beginning.
First, the Calcio Fiorentino is such a fascinating sport. Just watching it is crazy. So of course we want to have teams doing it! lol It’s a good spot for a Duel Duel. First task of the Leg. Will most likely have zero impact on the rest of the Leg anyway. So why not throw it in here.
Next up is a typical TARPHDME “Keep until further notice” task. Having to carry the statue of David with them for a little bit should be an amusing extra task. And it can also be a bit physical as well depending on how heavy it might be. The clue at the end of it where they unknowingly have to find the actual statue of David is cute.
One side of the Detour has become a TARPHDME staple. Oft recycled, it is inspired by a TAR17 task, but more difficult. Anytime there’s a nice opera house in the city, you’ll probably see this task on TARPHDME. Lol But it fits here more than in other cities with the history fact.
The other side of the Detour also touches upon history. I wanted to include something about Galileo, but I wasn’t sure what kind of task to do related to him. Doing some calculations to replicate the way Galileo was able to improve the telescope is good. Though we will be doing calculations again later in the Road Block.
The Detour also provides an opportunity for some product placement for a loyal sponsor.
Now, I stumbled upon the truffle hunting dogs of San Miniato. So I definitely wanted to make that a task of some sort. Having teams interacting with friendly animals is always a great time. And truffle hunting is unique here so a perfect spot for it. I’m just not sure if finding truffles is easy or hard and if that might affect logistics and the eventual outcome of the Leg.
Finally, the Leg culminates with the iconic leaning tower of Pisa. I decided to do this task mainly for the beautiful 8K UHD-worthy backdrop. But also because the calculating of lean and then digging in the ground to make it happen is such an interesting challenge. Being at the end of the Leg could also make for some exciting moments too. Especially as teams fight to stay safe.
Overall, I think this is a very, very full Leg and could be great for competition. A good, long TARPHDME Leg.