Historical Palio of the Contrade of Pomarance

A Palio played on stage

The Historical Palio of the Contrade of Pomarance is one of the most original events in Tuscany and, according to the organizers, the only Palio in Italy where the competition between districts takes place entirely on stage. In Pomarance, a town in the Val di Cecina in the province of Pisa, the four districts of the village — Centro, Gelso, Marzocco, and Paese Novo — do not compete with horses or marksmen, but by performing full-scale theatrical productions. Each district has about thirty minutes to present a show built from scratch: the text, direction, acting, set design, and costumes are all the work of the locals themselves.

The history

The roots of the event go back to 1958, when the Palio was born as a side event to a football tournament accompanied by costume parades. After a hiatus in the seventies, the festival was reborn in the mid-eighties in the theatrical form that makes it famous today, and it has been repeated every year since, involving entire generations of inhabitants. Over fifty years of tradition have transformed this challenge into a defining event for the entire community, where movement becomes expression and the districts face off through theatre.

The four districts and the Cencio

The prize at stake is the Cencio, a banner painted each year by an artist, which is presented during the investiture ceremony. The four districts work for months on original costumes, sets, and scripts, giving life to a competition of creativity, emotion, and spectacle that enlivens the village for more than a week.

The Investiture of the Captains

The festival opens on the Sunday before the challenge with the Investiture Ceremony of the Captains in Piazza Sant'Anna: this is the moment when the Cencio is presented, the districts are blessed, and the captains receive the mandate to lead their districts to victory, following a chivalric and medieval-inspired formula.

The night of the challenge

On the afternoon of the second Sunday of September, the festival comes alive: the procession crosses the streets of the village and reaches Il Piazzone, where the theatrical performances take place. The day concludes late in the evening with the proclamation of the winning district, after dinners set up in the streets and squares of Pomarance, amidst food stalls and a popular festive atmosphere. It is an event that combines theatre, tradition, and conviviality, and is well worth a trip into the heart of the Pisan metalliferous hills.