Sala Della Spada (the school of the sword) is a historical fencing school in Carlisle, PA. We focus on Italian military sabre, rapier and dagger, and dueling/smallsword, but we also do work great sword (spadone/montante), and other historical Italian weapons of the Renaissance to early modern period (1500-1900). If you are interested in historical fencing -- sometimes also referred to as Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), or Western Martial Arts (WMA) -- and are in Central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, York, etc. ) come by and try it out!
The instructor, Patrick Bratton, is an Instructor of Arms in classical Italian fencing from the Sonoma State University Fencing Masters Program. He is a student of Chris Holzman and Andrew Bullock, both from the Santelli lineage of fencing. He has also trained with leading European instructors and competitors -- Maestro Francesco Loda, Maestro Ton Puey, Jacopo Penso, and Maitre Pinel de la Taule -- and American instructors like Colin Chock, Maestro John Sullins, Maestro Frank Lurz, Professor Mark Donnelly, and Provost William Byrne. Patrick specializes in Northern Italian military sabre, and Southern/Neapolitan rapier and dueling sword, but has an interest all the Renaissance and early modern Italian weapons. He is an active visiting instructor and competitor at various Historical Fencing and HEMA events.
