A night of medieval fantasy at Medievalis in Pontremoli

25^th of August 2013

Since 2005, Pontremoli, about an hour drive from Monterosso, hosts a medieval festival to rediscover the history and ancient traditions of the town. The festival is held to commemorate the arrival of Federico II to Pontremoli in July 1226 and to celebrate his contribution to the town council.

In medieval times, Italy was not united as it is now but consisted of many states or areas, ruled by their own kings, waging wars to gain territory and power. From the year 700 Federico II had kept the area in Tuscany referred to as ‘Pontremolese territory’ under their jurisdiction. On the fourth day after his arrival in Pontremoli, a series of games called ‘Disfida de la Cortina di Cazzaguerra’ followed in honour of the emperor, where the protaganists of the districts Imoborgo, Sommoborgo and Contado competed.

Pontremoli is situated between the Verde River and the Magra River, in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany. Literally translated, Pontremoli means “trembling bridge”.

One of the many bridges crossing over the river into Pontremoli. Castello del Piagnaro can be seen on the hill in the distance (bottom left photo).

We crossed over the Magra River by a bridge that is guarded by four stone statues, each standing proudly on each corner of the crossing. We were not sure what we would be experiencing in this medieval town and with excitement we crossed over into Pontremoli.

Entering the market square in Piazza Repubblica where we encountered medieval personas

What awaited us was a medieval world of fantasy played out within this beautiful town.

In Piazza Duomo we watched a fascinating flag tournament, Disfida de la Cortina di Cazzaguerra, where groups, representing the regions Imoborgo, Sommoborgo and Contado, challenged each other to a display with flags, accompanied by the steady beats of drums and trumpets.

 The Disfida de la Cortina de Cazzaguerra, a tournament of flags

It was remarkable to see the coordination as the team waved their flags, synchronised their steps, and threw the flags into the air to be caught again by other team members.

 On further exploration we came upon a medieval camp next to the Verde River. All along the river we found re-constructed scenes from medieval times depicting life as it was then.

A medieval town was re-constructed along the Verde River

We followed the river, having a little fun on the way and arrived at Osteria de la Plebe where we enjoyed local specialities and a beer. The local speciality we sampled was sausages cooked in a tomato and bean sauce. It was tasty and ever so delicious to mop up the sauce with your bread and have it dribble down your hand in true medieval, course style of the peasants.

Our medieval dinner at Osteria de la Plebe along the Verde River

With our bellies filled, we continued our journey through town, experiencing the sights and sounds of our fantasy world played out within a new century realm. All the shop windows were decorated with a medieval theme and during the festival, a competition is held to select the best dressed window. The streets are lined with antique and book shops, art galleries, boutiques and cafés.

Crossing over the Verde River on a medieval bridge back into the town centre

During the festival many food and beer stalls are scattered along the streets, as well as various stalls selling medieval props of flower garlands, swords, peasant hats, medieval musical instruments and more. There are also art and craft stalls selling the most beautiful glassware and lamp shades or leather products, as well as specialities such as dried mushrooms and the most delicious sweets I have ever tasted.

Dad bought a few and I don’t blame him as there were bags and bags of different colours and flavours on display enticing you – orange, lemon, apple, strawberry, liquorice, cinnamon, the list is endless. As soon as I popped one of these oval delights into my mouth, I received a burst of flavour, followed by the creamy, sweet taste of white chocolate that melted in your mouth and thereafter, the final treat, a delicious almond to chew on.

With a lingering sweetness we ambled through the streets, stopping to watch street performances along the way. One such performance seemed to have been performed by a gypsy family where the dad was playing tricks such as eating fire; the daughter was beating the drums while the other was entrancing us with a fire dance and the mother was jingling the tambourine.

The streets were alive with performers, stalls and visitors just having fun

Unfortunately it had started to rain but the thought that we might never be able to attend the Medievalis festival in Pontremoli again, gave us the push we needed to persevere with our exploration. Of course this challenge did not come without moans and groans from mom who we left under the shelter of an archway while dad and I climbed the steps to the castle.

I am glad that we did make the effort as the pathway leading to the castle is enchantingly beautiful. The soft orange glow from the street lamps illuminated the stone walls of the houses, adding a sense of mystic and beauty to our experience.

Once we reached the top we found medieval personas of knights, archers, peasants and children running around. They were all waiting for the rain to clear so that they could start the parade through town. However, we had overheard that they may cancel the parade due to the rain so with a disappointed heart we started making our way through town towards the car, absorbing the last sights and sounds of the festival.

An enchantingly, beautiful walk to Castello de lo Piagnaro

While we were making our way back to the car we heard the sound of beating drums approaching, getting progressively louder. What fortunate luck, they had started the parade!

A medieval parade, escorting the king and queen to the tournament

I was so excited by it, feeling the beat of the drums and trumpets, watching the procession of knights, fire blowers, the religious order, king and queen and their entourage passing by that I joined the end of the march and followed them through town.

The parade ended at the re-created medieval camp on the Verde River where the king and queen took their rightful place on the platform to watch the events as they would unfold. The various medieval characters re-enacted how a knight was knighted and how he practised the different sword stances and techniques for battle. A battle scene was acted out and riders demonstrated how the knights competed in tournaments and jousted.

The night was coming to an end and the spectacle was coming to a close with another flag display and performance, as well as a choreographed show by the fire blowers. At one stage they had lit two hoops with fire and blinded folded one of the performers, who proceeded to ran towards the hoops and perfectly somersault through them, landing on the other side as the other three performers blew fire for a dramatic effect.

At the medieval camp they re-enacted the life of a knight

Once again, thinking the show was over, we headed back towards the car, leaving the sound of the pounding medieval drums behind us. A thunderstorm was stirring in the clouds above us and we had seen lightening fluttering in the clouds above so when we heard a loud bang, like a canon, we looked at each in disbelief and thought it can’t possibly be lightening. After the third explosion we realised that it was fireworks and we ran back onto the bridge we had crossed a minute ago to watch the grand finale of the festival.

A grand finale to an once in a lifetime experience

It was truly a grand finale to a grand experience as the colours exploded in the sky illuminating the river below and the castle on the hill. The experience of Medievalis Festival in Pontremoli made the long drive home at midnight worth every kilometre.