Historical Pageant – Licentia Populandi

A re-enactment telling the story of the town's birth

The Historical Pageant – Licentia Populandi is the historical re-enactment through which Belmonte Mezzagno, a town in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, celebrates its roots. At the heart of the event is a true historical episode: on April 18, 1752, King Charles III granted Prince Giuseppe Emanuele Ventimiglia the licentia populandi, the royal authorization to populate the Minzagno fiefdom and establish a new village. The town we know today was born from that decree, and the event brings its spirit to life through the language of celebration.

The day's program

The pageant unfolds in three main moments that guide the public through the historic center:

• the blessing of the banners and knights in Piazza Garibaldi, the town's civic heart;
• the departure of the historical pageant with a stop at the baglio, where a poignant re-enactment of the settlement's origins takes place;
• the parade through the town streets, featuring knights, ladies, archers, drummers, and town criers in period attire.

The participants wear 16th–18th century historical costumes, meticulously detailed to recreate the atmosphere of Baroque Sicily: banners, ceremonial weapons, and noble garments evoke the solemnity of a provincial court.

The history re-enacted

The first urban core of Belmonte Mezzagno was the bagghiu (the baglio), a large open-air courtyard built near the current Piazza Martiri d'Ungheria, by the Spatola stream, where residents could draw water. After obtaining the licentia populandi, Prince Ventimiglia had houses and a church built and granted his lands to hundreds of settlers from neighboring areas, sparking a flourishing agricultural economy. The re-enactment honors this story of settlement and growth, paying tribute to the founding prince.

A community celebration

Organized by the Municipality of Belmonte Mezzagno together with the Pro Loco, the event is a celebration of local identity with free admission, designed to bring citizens together around their shared history. With music, scenery, and folk traditions, the Historical Pageant – Licentia Populandi is also an opportunity to discover an authentic corner of the Palermo hinterland, far from the major tourist circuits.