Discover with us the Palio of Servigliano, a knightly tournament with a historical reenactment in a journey between tradition and competition.
Among the many traditions handed down to this day in Italy, the palio is one of the most characteristic, authentic and felt in every Italian region. The competition between the districts of a city has ancient roots that date back to the Middle Age, when Italy was divided in small tiny political entities during the age of communes.
Even though the Palio of Siena is the most famous medieval competition very well known also abroad, every year many medieval competitions with historical procession are celebrated in each Italian region, that's way today we are going to discover together the Palio of Servigliano-a knightly tournament with a historical reenactment played every August in the heart of Marche region.
The history behind the Palio of Servigliano
The Palio (or Quintana) of Servigliano is a knightly tournament played every summer since 1969 to celebrate an historical event occurred in 1450, when the Abbot of Farfa gave in the plain of Saint Walter (San Gualtiero) to the municipality of Servigliano and medieval games were announced that involved the whole Servigliano community.
Since its first modern edition, the Palio of Servigliano has combined the will to present the ancient story of how the village was founded with the tradition of medieval arts which has arrived until the present days. Every year, the municipality and the community of Servigliano work hard to make the Palio more and more engaging, with a rich events scheduled and beautiful costumes to stand out in the historical city center.
The Palio of Servigliano: the knightly tournament
Servigliano is a small town of the beautiful Marche region, famous for its iconic quadrilateral walls and its story of rebuilding that for many decades led to turn its original name in Castel Clementino.
The municipality is divided in five districts (rioni): Porta Marina with the colors white blue and red and the symbol a owl, Paese Vecchio with the colors of yellow and green and the symbol of a castle with a pin on the mountain, Porta Navarra with the colors of white and light blue and a symbol a lily, Porta Santo Spirito with the colors of yellow and red and a symbol a griffon and San Marco with the colors of blue and yellow and the symbol of the winged lion of Saint Mark.
Every year, on the third Sunday of August, the five districts face each other in medieval games such archery challenge, but the main competition is the ring joust, a 880-meter long obstacle horse race with rings of increasingly smaller dimensions (7, 6 and 4.5 centimeters), from the first to the third round. The winner of the Palio of Servigliano has honors and glory for all the year long, that's why this event is so felt by the whole community.
The historical reenactment of the Palio of Servigliano
The ring joust is preceded every year by the historical reenactment of the transfer of the plain of Saint Walter (San Gualtiero) by the Abbot of Farfa and the historical procession which passes through the urban quadrilateral, the monumental gateways and the city center of Servigliano. The costumes used during the procession are simply stunning, a masterpiece of tailoring with a precision in the details which aims to faithfully recreate the pre-Renaissance clothes.
To realize this great historical reenactment, there are involved 300 participants as actors who parade along the main street of Servigliano before the presentation of the knights, the oath and the pairing in the starting order.
Tips and suggestions to join the Palio of Servigliano
Visiting Servigliano during the celebration of the Palio is a great occasion not only to discover this charming village decorated for the festivity with colored flags of the five rioni, but also to be involved in the genuine enthusiasm that pervades the town during the Palio. Each inhabitant supports his own district and the cheering is so contagious that it is difficult to not be involved. Although the main events - the historical reenactment and the knightly tournament - are scheduled on the third Sunday of August, the celebrations start at least 10 days before, with music shows, exhibitions and gastronomic stands in each rione. Our suggestion is to try the delicious Servigliano cuisine eating in one of the rioni stands, indeed it is the opportunity to try tasty traditional food while plunging in the local atmosphere of Palio of Servigliano.
