Quidditch hordes head for Tuscany

IT was a sport born in a Harry Potter novel two decades ago. But Quidditch has now found a new home in a 2,000year-old Etruscan town among the hills and vineyards of Tuscany.

Sarteano, located 37 miles from Siena, will be “turned into a mini Hogwarts” as it hosts the inaugural Quidditch European Games.

Twelve international teams, including a squad from Britain, descend on the town on Friday.

In any normal year the region’s star sporting event is the world famous Palio, when tens of thousands of people squeeze into Siena to watch the medieval horse race as it roars through the central piazza.

But this year the bareback race, which began in the 17th century, will be forced to share the limelight.

The Quidditch teams will be greeted by a Harry Potter-themed party in Sarteano Castle, which dates from the 11th century. Market stalls will be set up to resemble the fictional Diagon Alley, where young wizards and witches come in search of their wands in the JK Rowling books. The UK has been drawn in group A against Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, as well as the hosts. The final is on Sunday.